"And you have done what you promised, for you are always true to your word." --Nehemiah 9:8
These are the words of Nehemiah regarding how God treated Abraham. Long before Abraham was even Abraham. Long before the first item was packed and they left Ur, God promised Abram that God would provide a promised place. Eventually through many years of travel Abram settles into the land that would eventually be the home for Israel.
Before leaving his childhood home Abram must have already had a relationship of great trust in God to pull up stakes and move to a place to be named later. When they set out they knew the direction they were headed but not the exact location. Still, Abram journeyed on trusting the promise of God.Years later Nehemiah and even more years later Stephen, recognize the faithfulness of Abraham, and the trust Abraham showed in God. This trust lives on today, when God promises we can count on it happening.
When we stood in front of a pastor and a congregation and committed to our wedding vows there was a very important portion to the service. Early on in the ceremony the pastor shared that if we would faithfully keep the vows we were making that day and if we were faithful to God's word, we could count on a blessed and holy marriage. Now nearly 16 years after that day we are experiencing the promise of God in reality.
This does not mean that everything is always easy, or that everything always works out as planned. What it means is that we can see how God has been and is being faithful to the promise as we journey through marriage together. Especially when it has been more difficult to see what God was up to.
Claiming the promise of God is a good start. Before we claim the promise we must first believe the promise is real and at work in our lives. We must trust the words Nehemiah shared, that God is always true to his word. In our marriage we often need each other to remind us of that.
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