February 24, 2025 Devo

My wife and I often laugh at advertising and commercials. Like when we’re watching TV and an ad comes on for a new medicine. It promises clearer skin or better breathing for your asthma or something that can calm down your irritated bowels. It’s something they say that you just HAVE to tell your doctor about. Then, as a disclaimer, it lets you know about 25 worse symptoms that you could get as a result of taking it. Many include death. Thank you, but I think I’ll pass.
Another type of promotional we laugh at are some that promise to make you look years younger. Buy their expensive cream, and you are guaranteed to have fewer wrinkles around your eyes. We laugh because one, when they show the before and after pictures, there’s really not much of a difference. And two, even if you can make my eyes look younger, what are you going to do about the rest of my very obviously aging body?!
The third kind of advertising we laugh at is when we’re going through a drive-thru and are ordering food. When you look at the sandwiches or other food in the pictures, they’re huge! The meat hangs over the buns. The lettuce is leafy and fresh. There are large slices of tomatoes that you can hardly wait to bite into. The problem is that what you get when you pay for it, NEVER looks like that! The meat is skimpy and a funny shade of brown. There is minimal lettuce and tomatoes, and the buns look as if someone has been sitting on them.
I could go on and on, but you get the point. The world offers much but delivers little. That’s why I love David’s words to us today. “All the LORD’s promises prove true.” God gives what He says He will give. He does what He says He will do. If anything, His Gifts are even beyond what He promises. When He says that we can experience His Joy, it’s true. And His Joy comes with a deep sense of satisfaction no matter what is going on around us. When He promises His Peace, He’s not promising that we won’t have problems, trials, or struggles. What He promises is a “centering” in our souls that keeps us steady in the most unsteady of times. I’ve walked with people in the last moments of their lives and found that even death could not rattle the peace they have. In a world of hype and deception, God DELIVERS on what He promises. And even more!
If you’re looking for something to stand on today, don’t look to the world around you. Look to the God above you. Spend some time taking a fresh look at the promises God makes to you in His Word. It’s there that you find love. It is there that you will find hope. It is there that you will discover peace, joy, and a reason for living. So if you need a laugh today, take a drive through a drive-thru. But if you need something you can bank on, look to the Lord. He’s a Promise Keeper. That’s God’s Word for you today.