Saying "Yes" to God

"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.'"  Matt. 5:33

I've promised myself and God that I wouldn't become a slave to writing these devotional thoughts.  I don't want to manufacture a Word from the Lord out of a desire to produce quantity, rather than genuine quality renderings of my interaction with God . . . hence the past week of silence!  But leave it to God, in the quietness of my lonely little church pew, He used my hubby-preacher to reignite my thought processes.

As I sat listening to a powerful sermon from Acts 5:1-11 about the pitfalls of breaking a promise to God, my mind wandered past the story of Ananias and Sapphira and their disobedience to give God a financial gift that they had promised to Him.  My mind ventured back over the course of my thirty-three years on this earth and the numerous amounts of promises or vows that I have personally made to God.

I began to think about the promises or commitments I have made to Him and really search my heart to discover whether or not I had remained true to them. 

• In 1987, my tender, seven year old heart said "yes" to God during the middle of the week at Vacation Bible School.  He used the presentation of the Gospel message by my Daddy-preacher to spark a desire to accept His Son as my Savior.  Although my naivete couldn't fully grasp the magnitude of the decision I was making, I was vowing to live my life for Him.  Has my life been an example of someone who has unwaveringly lived that vow out in word or deed?  I don't even hesitate to say:  ABSOLUTELY NOT!  Oh, how I'm thankful for that beautiful grace that covers those days that my "yes" to God was overshadowed by my "yes" to the world.
• Ten years later, I said "yes" to God when He burdened my heart and placed a very clear calling on my life to serve Him in a vocational capacity.  Even as a seventeen year old, I knew that this experience was more than a typical high that is felt during a week at youth camp.  I knew that God had spoken my name and it was up to me to follow Him or not.  Looking at my life, some might say that I have royally failed at this calling, and trust me, I've wondered that myself sometimes!  The devil wanted me to believe that all of the years that I've stayed home with my children that I was me neglecting the call that God placed on my life on that hot summer night at Fort Caswell.  However, God calmed my anxieties and reminded me that He entrusted my children to me and that by serving them, I was also serving Him. 
• At the young age of twenty-two, I vowed to God that I would love and honor my husband and that our home would be built on a firm Christian foundation.  Oh, how I wish I could say that my words and actions towards my husband have always been honoring towards him and towards God.  I wish I could say that I've not let my frustrations get the best of me and that I have calmly and patiently reacted to any and all adverse situations.  Once again, I'm thankful for the beautiful grace that has covered those selfish and immature actions that were prevalent in our early days of marriage, and that still like to rear their head every now and then!
• October 14, 2002 and September 15, 2005, I vowed to be love and nurture two precious lives that I had been entrusted with.  I promised to teach them about His unfailing love and be a representative of Christ in our home.  How easy it is to promise such a thing as you gaze into the face of a sleeping baby that is nestled into your cradling arms!  Unfortunately, that vow has been in question each time I allow my sin nature to override my spiritual nature.  It's on those days whenever the tone of my voice is unnecessarily harsh and my kids think that I could more easily be mistaken for the devil than for Christ that I once again say, "Thank You God for grace.".
• On two separate occasions in 2012, I promised to trust God no matter what.  I promised Him that even if circumstances didn't turn out how I desired, that somehow I would find a way to accept his perfect provision for my life and that I would trust Him.  Well, His perfect provision for my life included some very sad and dark days.  Making a promise to trust Him whenever there is a glimmer of hope is very easy to say, but very hard to do whenever it appears that your hope is gone.  Thankfully, through the dark days and the innumerable questions that I posed to Him over the course of several months, I always knew that He loved me and that if I could trust Him with my life, then I could trust Him with my circumstances in this life.  I can confidently say that our God is Worthy to be trusted.
• Lastly, in January of 2013 I promised God to use the gifts that He had given to me and to begin writing down the words that He had placed on my heart.  Having no desire to enter the blogging world, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was going to take me going down that avenue in order for me to be obedient to Him.  I knew that He was giving me things to say due to the way He was providing healing and comfort to my life.  My writing wasn't merely a cathartic outlet for me, it was something He specifically called me to do.  Now here's where I analyze whether or not I've held up to my end of the promise I've made God.  Over the past two weeks, the devil has tried to tell me that I'm getting too busy to remain faithful to this calling.  He wants me to let it fall by the wayside because of new obligations that will be facing me over the next month.  However, I have to tell the devil the same thing that I have to remind myself from time to time.  God told me to write, and until He tells me to quit writing, I am called to do it as often as He leads me to. 

I never realized exactly how many promises I have made to God over the years -- and this was not an exhaustive list.  It wasn't until I sat down and truly took some time to think about it when I saw that promises are many times much easier to make than they are to keep.

Saying "yes" to God should be treated with the utmost respect and diligence.  As Ananias and Sapphira very quickly observed, not following through with a vow made to God can be quite hazardous!  If you've never read their story, find some time today to read it and observe the importance of following through with your promises.

When Jesus pointed out in the Sermon on the Mount that our oaths to the Lord should be kept, He was reiterating and quoting an Old Testament Scripture that the Jews with whom He was talking to would have been very familiar.  Numbers 30:2 says:

"Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel:  "This is what the Lord commands:  When a man makes a  oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said."" 

Our word should carry some weight.  Whenever we say we're going to do something, God and our fellow man should know that our word will not be broken.  As Jesus went on to say in the Sermon on the Mount, whenever we say "yes" to God (or anyone else for that matter), we should try our hardest to ensure that it remains a "yes".  Our word is important.

Have I faltered on some of my vows made to God? 

Unfortunately, YES.

Do I thank Him for His grace that covers my faltering ways? 

Resoundingly, YES!

Have you ever taken the time to sit down and introspectively look back on all of the vows and promises you've made to God over the years?  Maybe it's time to take inventory of your life and how well you're following through with some of those commitments.  Don't worry, if you find areas that you've not done so well in . . . you're in good company!

Perhaps you need to renew some of your vows to God.  Just as a husband and wife will take the opportunity to reiterate and recommit their vows to each other and to God, maybe today would be a good day to spend some time in prayer and say "yes" to God again.  Thank Him for His unmerited grace for all of the times that your "yes" was a mere word off of your lips and not a commitment made in your heart that was reflected by your life.