Keeping Promises

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, December 18th, 2022:
Fourth Sunday of Advent

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Isaiah
7.10-14 

​The Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.”

Then Isaiah said: “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary the people, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.”

When I was in high school, I was a slacker when it came to studying. I’d put it off til the last minute and cram for a few hours before the exam. I got away with this approach until suddenly, I didn’t. One evening I sat down to cram for my biology exam the next day and after a few hours it was clear that I didn’t have time to memorize an entire semester’s worth of scientific ideas. As I went to bed that night, I heard a rumour of snow in the forecast, and I made a promise to God: if he gave me a snow day, I swore I’d study all the next day! 

God came through and I did indeed get a snow day. I spent the morning studying but decided I’d worked hard enough and gave myself the afternoon off. I did okay on the exam (though not as well as I could have done if I’d had a healthy study schedule), but the guilt of giving up on my promise to God followed me for a long time. I make promises to God more often than I probably should, usually with good intentions. Sometimes it’s a desperate bargain, more often it’s a recommitment to pray more often or read more scripture. I want to do right by my promises, but life gets in the way.

The good news is, God doesn’t operate by the standards of human failings. In the first reading for the fourth Sunday of Advent, we meet a king who is certain he will be defeated. Two of his enemies have teamed up and it’s not looking good. But God promises to protect him. The king is skeptical, so Isaiah makes a very familiar prediction: a young woman will bear a son. She will name him Emmanuel. He will be the saviour of His people. 

This promise was for Ahaz. It was also for all of us. God promised salvation! He does not take advantage of our trust, and He doesn’t operate on half-measures. He did not pull a snow day and do the bare minimum before giving up. Instead, He came through with an offer of salvation for all of humanity. Some 700 years after God’s promise to Ahaz, he sent His only Son, born to a young woman, the saviour to His people – each and every person. 

As we near the end of Advent, I am working to remember just how much God is worthy of my trust. There are times when I think He is holding out on me, or has forgotten me, or simply doesn’t care enough to fulfil His promises to me. Advent is a reminder that this is a lie of the enemy. The truth is that when God promises, He follows through. As we prepare to remember the arrival of Jesus, we remember that God is on our side – no matter how impossible the battle in front of us may seem. I pray that God gives us the faith we need to trust in Him.




Jenna Young

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