Last week I read a Facebook post by my nephew Nick. He is an accomplished guitarist and he was reflecting upon the number of people and opportunities he has experienced since making the childhood decision to learn to play the guitar. Nick stated, "One simple decision changed the course of my life!"

Have you ever thought of how pivotal a decision can be? In Nick's case, he proclaimed that it changed the course of his life. I remember watching him grow in his skill set and thinking that he was a promising young guitarist that could go places.
 
I decided to comment on Nick's post and I reminded him that accompanying this pivotal decision were hours upon hours of practice. For promise to grow the pivotal decision needs to follow the path of perseverance and persistence.
 
The Bible speaks to the promises of God in the language of covenant. Remember the story of the covenant that God made with Abraham and Sarah? God promised them both land and descendants that would outnumber the stars! Of course, this golden aged couple didn't sit back and think, "Wow! We're set for retirement!!!" Rather they had to make the pivotal decision to leave home and follow a path which required both persistence and perseverance.
 
I believe that God holds many promises for our lives and that we both live within these promises and come to understand the magnitude that they hold for us through the process of making pivotal decisions to follow a path which requires both persistence and perseverance.
 
Over the next several weeks, I will reflect out loud with you about these 4 Ps of promise: pivotal, path, persistence, and perseverance. Feel free to share with me stories about how these 4 Ps has changed the course of your life. Or perhaps you are thinking about a simple decision which holds a promise to change the course of your life. Feel free to share your thoughts on that as well.

Prayer for Today
 
God of Abraham and Sarah, grant us the gift of your promises. Help us to decide to follow your path and through your Spirit, grant us the faith of persistence and the hope of perseverance, so that we will come to know the fullness of your purposes for our lives. Amen.