By: Steve Wilmot
A woman hired a contractor to repaint the interior of her house. The woman walked the man through the second floor of her home and told him what colors she wanted for each room.
As they walked through the first room, the woman said, “I think I would like this room in a cream color.”
The contractor wrote on his clipboard, walked to the window, opened it and yelled out, “Green side up!” He then closed the window and continued following the woman to the next room. The woman looked perplexed but proceeded with the tour.
“In this room, I was thinking of an off blue.” The contractor wrote it down, went to the window, opened it and yelled out, “Green side up!” Again, this baffled the woman, but she was hesitant to say anything.
In the next room, the woman said she would like it painted light rose. And once more, the contractor opened the window and yelled, “Green side up!”
“Overcome with curiosity, the woman mustered the nerve to ask, “Why do you keep yelling ‘Green side up’ out my window every time I tell you what color I want?”
The contractor replied, “Because I have a crew of blondes laying sod across the street, and if they do it wrong the contract will get voided and I won’t get paid.”
That’s the thing about contracts. If one party doesn’t keep their end of the deal, the other party is not obligated to keep theirs. In the sod laying contract referred to above, if the contractor didn’t do his job, the homeowner wouldn’t be required to pay him.
Have you ever been forced to pay for a job that was not done the way you agreed in the contract because you never read or saw the small print?
Here’s what I hope you know and believe after reading this column: There are no hidden clauses or small print in God’s promises to those who are devoted followers of Jesus.
That’s because God didn’t make a contract with us. He made a covenant. The difference is in a covenant, both parties are responsible to keep the deal even if the other guy doesn’t keep his end.
Aren’t you glad? We never keep our end of the bargain with God, but God always keeps his!
If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself (2 Timothy 2.13). Our lack of faithfulness, obedience and consistent love does not break the promises God made to us.
There are no hidden clauses or small print in God’s promises to you. How should that truth impact your daily life? Let Peter show you.
One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So, they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken (Luke 5.1-9).
Jesus promised Peter that if he’d go fishing again, he’d catch some fish. There were all sorts of reasons for Peter to turn him down. Peter was a professional fisherman, Jesus was not.
Fishermen fish at night, not in the heat of day when the fish dive into cooler water. They had been up all-night fishing and hadn’t got even a bite. But Peter was a because-you-say-so person.
What’s your response to Jesus and his promises? We all have reasons to believe what he promised cannot happen. But may our response demonstrate we are because-you-say-so people.
I will trust your promises because you say so. I will believe what you say because you say so. I will do what you ask me to do because you say so. No matter what you’re facing, God has a promise for you.
Believe it because HE says so. Believe it because God is faithful even when we are not. Believe it because there are no hidden clauses or small print in God’s promises to you.
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Steve Wilmot is a former Edgerton, Ohio area pastor who now seeks “to still bear fruit in old age” through writing. He is the author of seven books designed to assist believers to make steady progress on their spiritual journey.