“For I am the LORD, I change not” (Malachi 3:6).
Mrs. Beecher hurried to the living room where she found Billy and Sarah shouting at each other.
“You promised!” Billy said.
“That was yesterday!” Sarah yelled back.
“That’s enough,” Mrs. Beecher said, pulling Billy away from his sister. “Sarah, what’s going on?”
Sarah crossed her arms in front of her. “He wants to come with me to the park, and he’ll only get in the way.”
“She promised!” Billy said again.
“Did you promise?” Mrs. Beecher asked Sarah.
“I said yesterday if he walked the dog for me, he could come, and I took him—”
Billy interrupted again. “And I walked him again today, and she won’t take me!”
Mrs. Beecher led her children to the couch, where they sat down. “This is just a misunderstanding,” she said. “Sarah, Billy thought you meant you would take him every day if he kept walking the dog for you.
“Well, I don’t want to do it anymore.”
Before Billy could protest again, Mrs. Beecher said, “Billy didn’t understand you, though. Since he already walked Dobby for you, you need to keep up your end of the deal. Even if you changed your mind, you did promise.”
Sarah frowned and looked at her brother. “It doesn’t seem fair because it’s his fault.”
“Sarah,” Mrs. Beecher said gently, “Billy’s younger than you. And even if he weren’t, you need to understand how important it is for you to keep your promises. They don’t change from day to day. The Bible says that God never changes. He’s the same as He was yesterday and He always will be. We need to follow God’s example and stay true each day, just like He does.” She turned to Billy. “And you could ask your sister a little more nicely.”
“Will you please take me, Sarah?” Billy asked.
“Okay.” Sarah smiled a little. “But tomorrow I’ll walk Dobby myself, all right?”
Billy nodded. “Okay, I promise.”
At times it is hard to keep promises, and we forget what we are supposed to do. But God never changes, and He always keeps His promises.
My response:
» What is something God does for me that will never change?
» Do I know a verse in the Bible that is a promise from God? How has He kept that promise?