Message Magazine’s Online Devotional for Monday, January 16, 2017
Listen to “Thoughts in Worship 01.16.2017” on Spreaker.
“When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?” (Ecclesiastes 5:4–6).
God knows us! This should go without saying, but it bears repeating. God knows us.
For whatever reasons, we often have high hopes and lofty intentions. We often also make bold declarations regarding our lives. “I will lose 20 pounds this year. I will stop smoking. I will begin to return a faithful tithe and generous offering. I will stop eating late at night.” We are accustomed to vowing to do all manner of things. And unfortunately, we are also accustomed to breaking our vows.
What if we vow to surrender our lives to God? What if we vow to help somebody who’s going through financial problems? What if we vow to love, honor, and cherish a spouse before God and in the presence of 200 witnesses? How seriously must we take these vows? Further, if we should break our promises, should we backpedal and make excuses? The answer is obvious.
God knows us, and it is, for this reason, He counsels us not to take making promises lightly, especially to Him. Yes, we do sometimes make mistakes or encounter unforeseen circumstances. God is well able to redeem our broken promises. It is, however, imperative that we do not take our promises for a joke, to be broken on a whim.
Ask God to keep His promise to write His laws in your heart so you can keep your promises, and your word can be your bond. God knows us and loves us. Let us show our love to Him in surrender and commitment. Amen.
