A Man of His Word

At about 11 o'clock last night i was thinking about the fact that i needed to write my blog today and i didn't have anything to write about. For a split second i almost thought of emailing Paula and telling her i just couldn't think of anything and that i wouldn't be writing today. But then i thought no, i need to do it, i told her i would and so i will go to church and maybe by the grace of God ill get something by this afternoon. In church today the Pastor talked about what we value, and if our actions match what we tell others and ourselves thats important to us. And then it clicked, words and verses started flooding my mind about the importance of our words and the power of our tongue to either bring life or death. I told Paula i would write on Sunday and that's today, so whether i had everything figured out or not i was going to be true to my word.I made a commitment to her, and to all of you! I want to be the kind of person that people can depend on. People today say so many things, words slip from our tongue like water from a fountain and we forget the promises we make. My roommate, who was dumped by her boyfriend last week yelled from her bed this morning as i was getting ready for church, " I TRUSTED HIM! I BELIEVED EVERYTHING HE SAID! And now he doesn't mean those things anymore, everything's changed." I myself have said these same words... and maybe like she and i, some of you have had a man promise you things he never lived up to and know the pain that comes with unfulfilled promises. Hopeful words have a way of sounding like a sweet symphony to our ears and they implant themselves in our souls.. When those hopes are forgotten or discarded they leave pain so deep. It can cause such doubt, and disrespect. We get our hopes up, we trust them, after all.. they SAID it.
Yesterday i had told a friend i would help her weed-whack her property. It was a beautiful summer day and there were plenty of other things i could have done, not to mention there was no monetary incentive, but i told her i would be there. I gave her my word and i stuck to it. When we make commitments to people how often do we change our plans or come up with ways to get out of things at the last minute before we actually have to sacrifice some of ourselves for someone else. Jesus was a man of His word, He kept all His promises and he always will. He's a promise keeper, and i want to be one too!
I thought about promises and commitments i've made to God and how many of them i've let go or didn't work very hard to keep. For example, about 3 months ago i told God that every Tuesday night i would set aside time to spend just with him. i did that too.. for 1 week and then things started coming up and i would make other plans. It brings tears to my eyes now, when i look back and i can see Jesus sitting in my living room waiting for me, and i was too busy.. too concerned with other things. But i know He always showed up, He listens when we say things, and people do too. OUR WORDS MEAN SOMETHING. They are important, they have the power to change someones entire life. I wouldn't have done that to a friend who i made plans with to meet, so why did i think it was okay to do to God. I want to be trustworthy and dependable, a person that when someone thinks of me they know they can stand on my word. Ive heard about a time when a mans word was as good as gold, it was as binding as a written contract, when people meant what they said, and flattering words were of no use. I pray that for our generation, that we would come back to following Christ in this way. That when we make commitment to people and to God we would carry them out, or at least not even agree to them at all. Can you imagine if in the garden Jesus says to the Father, Your will be done... and then as He carried the cross decided it was too much for him to endure, it wasn't worth it, we weren't worth it...Could you imagine if He never carried out the death and resurrection that has brought us life. IF all He did was talk, where would we be? This is a value that's important to me and no matter how difficult the task i pray my actions would match the words that come from my mouth.