It was an abnormally cold fall night for southeast Texas. The big game was to be played before a packed stadium. I really wanted to go. My dad had said that maybe I could go. So when the carload of men pulled in our driveway to pick up my dad, I walked out to get in the car. He told me I couldn’t go.

    “But you promised…” “But I’m all bundled up in my coat…” “But it’s the biggest game of the season!”

    I was devastated. In my mind, my father had broken a promise to me—a BIG PROMISE!

    “I won’t ever do that to my kids!” I confidently told myself.

    In actuality, he hadn’t promised, he just said we’d see. I’d been sick all week and didn’t need to be out in the cold damp air. But my desire to go made his “maybe” into a definite yes, and his “no” into a betrayal.

    I can still feel the anger and disappointment today. I sure I’ve broken some important promises I’ve made to my children, too! Life is more complicated at 40 than at 9. Unfortunately, complicated and rational explanations make little sense to a broken hearted 9 year old.

    Incredibly, I remember this broken promise far more vividly than the kept promise which was so much greater. For my birthday, I got to go to the Cotton Bowl and watch the University of Texas beat the US Naval Academy (Roger Staubach was the quarterback) for the national championship. A guy my dad introduced me to was the defensive star for Texas. It was an incredible experience.

    But I remember the broken “maybe” more vividly than the kept promise. Why? Why is it so easy to hang on to the negative? Why is it so easy to remember all the heartbreaks and so hard to count all our blessings?

    Maybe it’s the training from all the negative news we hear. Maybe it’s just our fallen, selfish nature wanting everything to go our way. Maybe it’s why God has us take the Lord’s Supper the first day of the week— so we can be reminded of his greatest promise: a Son who died for our sins and a Lord who rose victorious from the grave so we could depend on a Savior coming back for us.

    All of us will have our share of disappointments. Satan is going to get as many licks on us as he can. He’ll try to take every “maybe” we’ve received from God and make it into a broken promise. He’ll help us forget all the promises God has already kept so we will doubt the one great promise for our future. But God will not forget his promise. He will send his son a second time. But this time, it won’t be to die for our sin. No, this time it will be to take us to the greatest victory party of all time—better than anything we can imagine, even a trip to the Cottonbowl for a nine year old kid!

“Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are eagerly expecting him.” (Hebrews 9:28)