Well, with the best of intentions, I had hoped to have this week's post up on/by Monday, but it just didn't happen. Good thing I didn't PROMISE to write every Monday!
We've talked about THE Promise Maker in a different post, and how we can trust HIM to keep his promises. I thought that today we might pause for an evaluation of OUR promise keeping.
Several years back, there was a major push, complete with rallies, books, and other literature/media, focused on challenging men to be Promise Keepers. I was just a young lass when it had the emphasis, so I don't pretend to know or remember all the details of it, but the general idea was challenging men to keep their promises, especially to God, their wife, and their family.
Others have had near-death experiences and in that frightful moment have made promises (or more accurately "bargains") with God, promising that "if you let me live, I'll do X, Y, or Z for you". Some have followed through. I'd guess that most have not.
Most of us have also, at one time or another made some promise to God in the passion of worship offered to God a heartfelt offer of EVERYTHING. Whether it was the words of a song saying that "I Surrender All", or a sermons call to a particular act of sanctification, most believers have made some kind of promise to God. It was likely a commitment that it wouldn't be sin to NOT do it, but rather a promise to go above and beyond status quo.
And… here's MY confession. Recently, out of gratitude for something that God had done, I had promised a full month without extra-curricular activities on my computer or my not-so-smart phone. For some of you this would be a relief, rather than a challenge, but with my habits, this would NOT be easy. I did great for the first week, and MOSTLY great for the second week. I enjoyed using the time to spend in the Word, develop my other hobbies, and generally not be bombarded by social media. By the third week, though, I was really starting to slide. By the time I reached the date that should have been my "I made it a month, God! See how grateful I am!?", I was instead trying to ignore it lest I feel the wave of guilt for not finishing out the month.
We all do it. And that thought might be a comforting thought on some level: "At least I'm not any worse than so-and-so!" But when we think about it, it doesn't matter if I'm better, worse, or the same as so-and-so! What matters is what GOD sees when he looks at my heart. Have I… have YOU… made a promise to God that you haven't kept?
God takes promises pretty seriously. Just look at how serious he is about his OWN promises! And how grateful I am for that seriousness!
Here's something to challenge us, though: Have you heard the story of Jephthah? He was going into a major battle, the odds were not in his favor, and he was desperate for God's help, so he promised God that
"whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering." Judges 11:31
"My father, you have opened your mouth to the Lord; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites." Judges 11:36
Woah! Her only request was that she have two months to go away with her friends and mourn first – personally, I would have just wanted it to be over and done with!So… what have YOU promised to God? Hopefully it doesn't include sacrificing your only daughter!
Honestly, I think many promises that have been made should not have been made at all. I'm going to go out on a limb here. And I reserve the right to be wrong - in fact, I hope someone wiser than me will help to sort out any confusion. I believe that some promises, after evaluating them based on the Word of God, must be denounced – particularly promises that involve sin. But if it's NOT a sin, and you're just ready to dismiss a promise made because it was made rashly, in the passion of the moment, or some other excuse, I'd think twice, no, three times before shrugging off a promise to God. But talk to HIM about it! Good thing for all of us that I'm not the judge here!
So what about those promises that God has already been reminding you of as you read this? I would guess that God's reminding you of them for a reason.
Can I challenge you with this? James 4 reminds us that "whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." It may not be a sin for me to not do that thing that you've promised God, but for you, who knows that God has challenged YOU to [fill in the blank here], it IS sin.
Talk to God, confess to him, and ask for fresh strength to do what you know he wants of you.
And as for making promises in the future? I'll close with the surrounding passage in James 4, but starting with verse 13.
Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. James 4:13-22
Blessings on you!(all passages are from the English Standard Version, my personal choice for Bible study)
