Thoughts: Paul was saying he wanted to come back by to see them but could not. He was not just saying this to try to make them think well of him- it really was his intention though he had to abandon these plans. We should not tell people we are coming to something when we have no intentions of doing so- that is the way of the world. But we also need to realize that in this world our best intentions do not always come to fruition. Paul had stated he wanted to do this in 1 Corinthians 16:6. It was not the shortest way to go from Ephesus to Macedonia by way of Corinth- that was hundreds of miles out of the way. Yet, he wanted to be able to encourage the Corinthians and then have them encourage him on the long journey back to Judea. But for whatever reason, he could not. This also teaches us not to be too disappointed when leaders in the church or the church itself do not meet our expectations. As humans in this world we will disappoint each other and often that is out of our control. We must always rely on God whose promises are always "Yes" -- pure and clear. Only God makes unbreakable promises- for He knows all factors and (as Augustine said) the future is present to Him. Jesus promises are promises that lead to life and not to the "No" of death. Our promises should not be made lightly- but as carefully as we can so we might fulfill them as Christ fulfills all of His promises- for we are His servants.
Prayer: Lord, let my promises be true, imitating your true promises to me. When others' promises fail- and my own fail- give me grace to rely on you. You alone can keep your promises truly and purely.
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