BH Bulletin - Thursday 4 March 2021

Thought for the Day by Rich Arnold
​(Youth and Families Minister at Holy Cross)

Have you ever felt the sting of a broken  promise? 

I'm sure you have, and no doubt you are guilty of causing that sting once or twice yourself.  It's hard to trust people, to depend on people, to believe in people when promises are shattered.
 
Our wonderful God is different!  He is utterly faithful. 
 
I've been reading 2 Samuel 7 recently (there's so much gold in there so do take some time to dig into it this week).  It's one of the great Old Testament messianic promises where God makes a covenant with King David.  David thinks he has a great plan - to build a house for God - but God tells him "No! No! I will build something for you!"  He promises to build a lasting, enduring kingdom with a great king who will rule on his throne forever.  It's a promise which points (partially) to Solomon and ultimately to Jesus.  
 
David responds with an amazing, humble prayer, acknowledging that he is undeserving of this promise and that no one is like this great God.  As he does that, he says something that has struck me:
 
"For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant." (2 Samuel 7:21)
 
David acknowledges how faithful God has been to him - and isn't his faithfulness to all his people wonderful? But more than that, David acknowledges God's faithfulness to himself. God will keep this promise because he has promised it and because of who he is (will in v21 is also translated heart).  David knows that God is acting not primarily for David's sake, but for God's own sake - the sake of his word and in keeping with who he is and what he does.  God is utterly consistent.  He is utterly reliable. He has 100% integrity.  He must do what he says.  He must act according to who he is.  God's promises are unbreakable!
 
Isn't that wonderful?  It means that in everything God promises us, we can be fully confident that they are and will always be true.  It means we can respond like David with steadfast faithfulness. It means that, like David, we can pray confidently knowing that God is trustworthy.  And regarding the particular promise in 2 Samuel 7, it means we can be sure that nothing will stop King Jesus from ruling his throne forever!  If we have been brought into this enduring, eternal kingdom then we have certain hope and security - nothing can stop this being true for us because God has promised it.  For the sake of his own word and in keeping with who he is and what he does, God always gets the job done! 
Rich

---

---