El Shaddai

Some promises are more lasting than others. This Hebrew name for God tells us a lot about how God keeps promises.

Some things are considerably more lasting than others. One married couple realized when they celebrated their 10th anniversary that their marriage had lasted longer than almost everything involved with the actual wedding. The bridal store had gone out of business. The bakery went bankrupt. The florist and the church janitor had both died. And the pastor who performed the ceremony had left the ministry.

Some promises don't seem to last very long either. In fact, these days, even legal contracts (which are really just formal promises) can be broken if you have enough money to pay for a lawyer.

And how about guarantees? We know a guy who had his house reroofed by a reputable roofer. The job included a 10-year guarantee. About two years after the roof was installed, a leak developed. When the homeowner tried to contact the roofer to fix it, he found that the man had retired and moved to Florida. The guarantee was worthless.

Nonetheless, promises are important. By their very nature, promises...