NIV and NASU “He remembers His covenant forever.”
“For He remembered His holy promise.”
“For He remembered His holy word.”
“Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people.”
“Our fathers…did not remember Your many kindnesses.”
“Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people.”
“Our fathers…did not remember Your many kindnesses.”
“They forgot the God who saved them.”
“But He… remembered His covenant.”
A covenant is a promise made on the strength of the covenant-maker’s word. A covenant is only as strong as the character of the one who made it. A promise is only as good as the one who gave it. My father used to say, “A man is only as good as his word.” God has never forgotten His covenant to love and deliver His people. He has always kept His promises, and He is certainly “as good as His word.”
Nearly fifty years ago I made a promise which I broke. Before “God and all these witnesses” I said “I do” and I did not “do” as I said I would do. After seventeen years of painful marital anti-bliss, my children’s mother and I divorced. Nothing will ever change that fact. I cannot reverse history. I did not keep my word.
A few years after my divorce, I re-married the love of my life. In mid-life, God blessed me with twenty years of true 'wedded bliss.' He gave me five wonderful children from my first marriage and two from my second. For reasons unknown and undeserved, God chose to be incredibly gracious to me. I am Ebenezer Scrooge. I woke up from a bad dream and God gave me a second chance at life. I have seven incredible children, four wonderful sons and daughters-in-law, and nine amazing grandchildren.
In the 1991 comedy “City Slickers,” weathered trail boss Curly (Jack Palance) offers thirty-nine year old city slicker Mitch Robbins (Billy Crystal) some sage prairie advise. Holding up his index finger, Curly poses the ultimate cowboy question: “Do you know what the secret of life is? This.” Mitch quips, “Your finger?” With real cowboy authority Curly responds, “One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean s___.” City slicker asks, “But, what is the ‘one thing’?” The trail boss leaves Mitch hanging with a smile: “That’s what you have to find out.”
I think I discovered the “secret of life,” the “one thing” that matters above all else. The “one thing” I must always remember is... God is God, not me.
I sometimes wish I was God. I occasionally act as though I think I am. But I’m not. I am not God. That’s a good thing because I am a covenant violator. He is a covenant fulfiller. I am a promise breaker. He is a promise keeper. God kept His word. I could not keep mine. He remembered to do what He said He would do. I forgot. He said, “I do” and did.
I have actually forgotten about God, especially in the good times. But I always remembered Him when things got bad. In times of hardship I cried like the Psalmist, “Remember me, O Lord.” God, on the other hand, has a better and more consistent memory than me. He needs no reminder of His promise. He remembers me “in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and health, for better or for worse, as long as we both shall live”... and that’s forever! He never forgot about His covenant and He never forgot about me.
My precious second wife suffered and died from Acute Myeloid Leukemia six years ago this month. Nevertheless, God offered me a promise He will not break. He has promised to take care of my wife, my children, and me. I can trust Him... no matter what.
I am glad I’m not God and He is. God has a better memory than me. I am slowly learning “the secret of life” and the “one thing” that matters above all else... God is God, not me. He fulfilled His promises to me. He remembered His word when I forgot mine, and He gave me a second chance at life.
“But He… remembered His covenant.”
A covenant is a promise made on the strength of the covenant-maker’s word. A covenant is only as strong as the character of the one who made it. A promise is only as good as the one who gave it. My father used to say, “A man is only as good as his word.” God has never forgotten His covenant to love and deliver His people. He has always kept His promises, and He is certainly “as good as His word.”
Nearly fifty years ago I made a promise which I broke. Before “God and all these witnesses” I said “I do” and I did not “do” as I said I would do. After seventeen years of painful marital anti-bliss, my children’s mother and I divorced. Nothing will ever change that fact. I cannot reverse history. I did not keep my word.
A few years after my divorce, I re-married the love of my life. In mid-life, God blessed me with twenty years of true 'wedded bliss.' He gave me five wonderful children from my first marriage and two from my second. For reasons unknown and undeserved, God chose to be incredibly gracious to me. I am Ebenezer Scrooge. I woke up from a bad dream and God gave me a second chance at life. I have seven incredible children, four wonderful sons and daughters-in-law, and nine amazing grandchildren.
In the 1991 comedy “City Slickers,” weathered trail boss Curly (Jack Palance) offers thirty-nine year old city slicker Mitch Robbins (Billy Crystal) some sage prairie advise. Holding up his index finger, Curly poses the ultimate cowboy question: “Do you know what the secret of life is? This.” Mitch quips, “Your finger?” With real cowboy authority Curly responds, “One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean s___.” City slicker asks, “But, what is the ‘one thing’?” The trail boss leaves Mitch hanging with a smile: “That’s what you have to find out.”
I think I discovered the “secret of life,” the “one thing” that matters above all else. The “one thing” I must always remember is... God is God, not me. I sometimes wish I was God. I occasionally act as though I think I am. But I’m not. I am not God. That’s a good thing because I am a covenant violator. He is a covenant fulfiller. I am a promise breaker. He is a promise keeper. God kept His word. I could not keep mine. He remembered to do what He said He would do. I forgot. He said, “I do” and did.
I have actually forgotten about God, especially in the good times. But I always remembered Him when things got bad. In times of hardship I cried like the Psalmist, “Remember me, O Lord.” God, on the other hand, has a better and more consistent memory than me. He needs no reminder of His promise. He remembers me “in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and health, for better or for worse, as long as we both shall live”... and that’s forever! He never forgot about His covenant and He never forgot about me.
My precious second wife suffered and died from Acute Myeloid Leukemia six years ago this month. Nevertheless, God offered me a promise He will not break. He has promised to take care of my wife, my children, and me. I can trust Him... no matter what.
I am glad I’m not God and He is. God has a better memory than me. I am slowly learning “the secret of life” and the “one thing” that matters above all else... God is God, not me. He fulfilled His promises to me. He remembered His word when I forgot mine, and He gave me a second chance at life.
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2 comments:
Dave,
And I am so glad that in God's Word he gave us so many examples of vow breakers and flawed people who he remembered and kept in His grace.
Larry E.
Yeah, Larry. Good word. As a flawed human it's encouraging to know and have the grace of God.
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