If you have known me for any amount of time, you have probably heard me talk about my son.  (There is nothing like the pride a father has for his son.)  You may have even heard some of his story and mine, and for far too long it has felt like he has had his own, very distant life and I have had mine. 

If you haven't heard our story, the readers digest version is this... I am divorced and my beautiful son appeared in this world during my divorce around 18 years ago.  I have always deeply loved my son but I never had one year (or even one month) of really being a "dad" to him.  Flawed court systems, unforgiving relatives, lies and weakness have kept me from being with him for 18 years. In essence, sin in the world has brought me great pain in the form of hindering a relationship with my son.  Don't get me wrong, we had some amazing weekends together, but in between those far too short times would be agonizing, forced periods of silence and distance that was heart-wrenching for both of us. 

And then, some years ago,  came a Promise.  

You see, I have some of the best, prayerful, godly friends in the world. And they went to bat for me when I didn't have the heart. They went boldly to to my very Best Friend, King Jesus, and got a Promise for me. The promise was that He (Jesus) would "restore to me the years the locust has eaten".(Joel 2:25).   That I wouldn't have to fight for it because He would. (Ex. 14:14). That he would "fix it", and bring us together, and no one would take us apart. That things would be better than I could possibly imagine. 

Then guess what happened?  Silence.  Brokenness and strained relationships between my son and I.  Things didn't get better they got worse!! And this went on and on and it got worse and worse to the point that I didn't even like it when people asked me about my son. In essence, I gave up. I gave up and lost heart. It just seemed impossible. I forgot the Promise. 

But God did not forget.  

Not only did He not forget, but those years of disbelief and despair were used by Him to produce fruit in me and my son  in ways that I couldn't imagine. And then, at the perfect time and in the perfect way, His timing and His ways (Isaiah 55) our faithful, loving Father brought us together.  And wouldn't you know it, He was right! It's better than I can imagine, its sweet and fun, and peaceful.  I forgot the Promise, I gave up, but He didn't forget. He came through. These days Domaniq and I are like those Israelites in Psalm 126...

"Remember when the Eternal brought back the exiles to Zion? It was as if we were dreaming- our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues were spilling over into song. The word went out ...from nation to nation. 'The Eternal has done remarkable things for them.'  We shook our heads. All of us were stunned- the Eternal has done remarkable things for us.  We were beyond happy, beyond joyful.." (THE VOICE) 

So what's your Promise?  Has it been too long?  Does it seem impossible?  Have you lost hope?  Here are a few things I have learned about our Promise Keeper that I want to share, from one weak, broken human to another. 

1. He does things in His own ways and in His own timing. (And its always perfect!)

2. He is able to bless everyone involved in ways they can't possibly imagine. 

3. He is way more patient than we are. 

4. He fulfills His Promise in a way that maximizes His Glory and our Joy. 

5. He is faithful. He never forgets. He is always ALWAYS ALWAYS true to His word.

My dear friend, don't give up. And don't beat yourself up either. Just take a deep breath and remember,  God's got this. He blesses imperfect sinners like me and you. He is true to His word. He loves you and everyone involved. 

"Let us seize and hold tightly the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is reliable and trustworthy and faithful to his word."  Hebrews 10:23. (AMP)

"Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."  2 Peter 1:4

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.."  Ephesians 3:20

David Esgro