No one makes you make a promise or vow. When you choose to make a promise, it’s an act of your own free will. It is this freedom – this choice – that gives promises their true meaning—they are offered freely.
Let’s examine one more law found in the Torah on vows and promises:
If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth. – Deut. 23: 21 – 23
We’ve already learned that God expects us to promptly fulfill the promises we make to Him and that failing to keep a promise is considered a sin. This is why God advises us not to make a promise unless we fully intend to keep it. For today, I’d like to hone in on this concept of “freely given.”
Just as with our earthly promises, God does not force us to make vows or promises to Him. We have the freedom to choose what we say to God. Therefore, when you freely decide to make a vow to Him, it is a deliberate choice you have made.
Whether we made the promise thoughtfully or carelessly, it was still made of our own free will, and God expects us to fulfill it. He expects us to fulfill our promises promptly. This is why, if you cannot keep a promise, it is better not to make it to God at all. It is wiser to refrain from making a promise than to make one and fail to keep it. If we make a promise to God, we do so freely—God does not command it, and no one else can compel us to make it. Because the vow is initiated by us, God expects us to honor it.
God has granted us complete free will over our lives, but our choices carry consequences. If we choose to make a promise to Him, He expects us to honor it. Failing to do so renders our words meaningless and empty before Him.
Here are some examples of promises we could make but then fail to work toward achieving:
🤞 If someone I love gets better or is helped out of this situation, I will do X.
🤞I will spend more time teaching others about God.
🤞I promise to be a more active member of my local church.
🤞 I promise to read my Bible more.
🤞I promise to make more time to pray.
These are just a few examples of promises we often make to God. So, think about the promises, resolutions, vows, or oaths you’ve made to God. And then ask yourself, have you kept them? Are you busy trying to keep them? Or, are your words empty and meaningless to God? No one made you speak them but if you have – God expects you to follow through. #KeepYourWord
Adonai's Appeal 