I have a confession to make…. I am old-school sometimes in how I pay for things or give a monetary gift. While I like the convenience of using a card, I have not gotten into using some of the virtual payment systems that so many use, and sometimes I want to write a check. Yes, a piece of paper with my handwriting on it.  If you get one of these from me, it is a promise of value to you; a promise that I have money in an account that you now can access. But it is only a piece of paper until you take it to the bank and cash it – that is when its true value is realized.  That is when it becomes more than a piece of paper and some ink. You can put that check in a drawer and leave it, but it won’t be useful to you or anyone else.

I have been thinking about how this could be analogous to the promises God has made. Promises I read about in His word but often don’t “cash.”  I don’t stand on that promise, or I get weary of praying and waiting for the promise to be fulfilled. As I start a new year, I wonder what promises I have from God that I have not claimed, that I have not continued to believe are meant for me. What are my “uncashed checks?”  I want to begin searching for and standing on God’s promises that I have not accepted, believed, and cashed.

As I start looking at God’s promises in the Old Testament, I see how many times a promise is confirmed by repeated scripture and how sometimes it is fulfilled over many generations. I take heart in the realization that God’s promises are always fulfilled and God’s timing is always perfect.

Psalm 145:13 says “… The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.”