During the late 1990’s a soulful yet street stylish group called Jagged Edge took the music world by storm. In 2000, they topped the R& B charts with a pulsating hit single Promise.
“Baby I promise that I’ll never leave, that everything will be alright, I promise these things to you… just believe, I promise.”
This song was pumped through the hottest urban radio stations, became popular at weddings and grew to be a classic R&B love anthem.
One of the most painful experiences in life is to put your faith in something or someone that cannot keep their word or fulfill its purpose. A promise is as good as the integrity of the person that proposes it. In the political arena the word “promise” has lost its meaning. In marriages, the promise to love “in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, until death do us part” has been devalued. 60% of marriages end in divorce. Sadly, we live in an economy of broken commitments and we shell out untimely vows like currency.
The Word of the Lord on this topic offers new hope. Hebrews 13:5, 6 says:
5Don’t fall in love with money. Be satisfied with what you have. The Lord has promised that he will not leave us or desert us. 6That should make you feel like saying, “The Lord helps me! Why should I be afraid of what people can do to me?”
The infinite and almighty God of Heaven has issued a promise that he will not leave us or desert us. There is an automatic confidence that arises in this vow because we know the character of the one who offers it. Jagged Edge followed their song success the following year with an album called “Heartbreak”. For those who know Christ, never will such a term follow any of his promises. “I have never seen the righteous forsaken”. There is nothing that anyone can do to relieve us of God’s presence in our lives. Let’s never forget that! Promise?