“For I am watching over my word to perform it” (Jeremiah 1:12).

There was a time when a person’s word was dependable and trustworthy. Sadly, that is no longer the case. I read somewhere recently that a famous professional athlete had a contract that was over one hundred-twenty five pages long. All of that was for the purpose of making certain that his word and the word of his employer were understood fully by each party. A significant part of the document described the consequences for one or both parties should they not fulfill their part of the agreement. We hear of contracts entered into by couples prior to their marriage. Such contracts specify what will occur should one or both parties decide to terminate the relationship.

I wonder how much time the typical lawyer spends writing or reading contracts or legal agreements of one form or another. There is a sense in which if a person’s word was trustworthy, such contracts would not be necessary. The simple reality is that far too frequently, men do not keep their word.

Now contrast that with the words of Jeremiah. As God’s chosen prophet, he described how God views his word: “I am watching over my word to perform it.” That’s quite a statement, would you agree? God is keeping watch over his word for the express purpose of insuring that everything it says is performed. Men cannot be depended on in like manner, nor can any contract produced by human effort insure such trustworthiness. God watches his word. God keeps his word. God completes his word. There is a lifetime of truth in that.

Now I think you’d agree that the world we live in is filled with experts. All one has to do is pick up the newspaper, watch television or glance at the most recent magazine to identify so-called experts. They give us their word on issues regarding health, money, politics, relationships, and on and on. Yet I wonder how many of them have the ability to “watch over their word to perform it.” My guess is that none of them even care if their word is fulfilled. They are more interested in offering their opinions, caring little about the accuracy of their words.

Don’t you find a tremendous amount of comfort and confidence knowing that God has given us his word; and further, that he watches over it? His word never fails. He will never break his contract with us because his word is trustworthy. His advice is certain and secure. All we ever need to know about him is found in his word. Every promise we might ever need is found in his word. Every piece of advice he provides he has watched over to make certain it is performed. With those thoughts in mind, why would anyone consider elevating the word of others above the word of God?  After all, they don’t watch over it to perform it, do they?