When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; for He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed. Ecclesiastes 5:4
Making a vow or a commitment has always been God’s way of relating to His people. The kingdom of God is a kingdom of commitment. God is a commitment-making and commitment-keeping God. More than 300 times in the Bible, He says, “I am a covenant-keeping God!” A covenant is an agreement confirmed by oath between two parties. In His relationship with Abraham, God gave a promise (Gen. 17:7). As we look at the history of the Jewish people, we see God’s faithfulness in keeping His covenant with Abraham no matter how impossible the circumstances seemed to be.
When we make faith promises, God wants us to keep our word. In the book of Judges, Jephthah made a vow to offer whatever comes out of his house to meet him as a burnt offering to the LORD (Judg. 11:30-31).When he came to his house at Mizpah after the victorious battle, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and dancing. It was a tough call. The Bible records, “and he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed” (11:39). Jephthah kept his promise.
God is looking for men and women who would swear to their own hurt and keep their vows. Why? Because character is built through commitment. If we don’t value commitment, everything in our life will fall apart. Nothing great ever happens without making commitments. There are three life commitments that we must make:
(1) Commitment to people. We are commanded to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39). It takes commitment to love people because “love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:4-7).
(2) Commitment to spiritual fitness. “Spend your time and energy in training yourself for spiritual fitness. Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next” (1 Tim. 4:7-8, NLT).
(3) Commitment to our life’s purpose. “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). The apostle Paul was totally committed to his purpose and he allowed nothing to distract him. This is the kind of life God wants us to live—a life of commitment.
Making a vow or a commitment has always been God’s way of relating to His people. The kingdom of God is a kingdom of commitment. God is a commitment-making and commitment-keeping God. More than 300 times in the Bible, He says, “I am a covenant-keeping God!” A covenant is an agreement confirmed by oath between two parties. In His relationship with Abraham, God gave a promise (Gen. 17:7). As we look at the history of the Jewish people, we see God’s faithfulness in keeping His covenant with Abraham no matter how impossible the circumstances seemed to be.
When we make faith promises, God wants us to keep our word. In the book of Judges, Jephthah made a vow to offer whatever comes out of his house to meet him as a burnt offering to the LORD (Judg. 11:30-31).When he came to his house at Mizpah after the victorious battle, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and dancing. It was a tough call. The Bible records, “and he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed” (11:39). Jephthah kept his promise.
God is looking for men and women who would swear to their own hurt and keep their vows. Why? Because character is built through commitment. If we don’t value commitment, everything in our life will fall apart. Nothing great ever happens without making commitments. There are three life commitments that we must make:
(1) Commitment to people. We are commanded to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39). It takes commitment to love people because “love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:4-7).
(2) Commitment to spiritual fitness. “Spend your time and energy in training yourself for spiritual fitness. Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next” (1 Tim. 4:7-8, NLT).
(3) Commitment to our life’s purpose. “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). The apostle Paul was totally committed to his purpose and he allowed nothing to distract him. This is the kind of life God wants us to live—a life of commitment.
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