When you make a vow to the Lord your God,
Deuteronomy 23:21 NASB
you shall not delay to pay it,
for the Lord your God will certainly require it of you,
and it will be a sin for you.
It is better that you not vow,
Ecclesiastes 5:5 NASB
than vow and not pay.
For as many as the promises of God are,
2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV
in Him they are yes…
All of us have been involved with vows of one sort or another. We have made marriage vows, mortgage covenants, bank loans, etc. We enter certain vows with joy and enthusiasm. I speak of marriage vows. Other vows lack some of the emotional content but are certainly taken on with every intention of fulfilling every detail to the fullest extent. Those who break their vows are regarded with distain and not to be trusted.
So it is that we must choose any vows for 2022 with great care. The Lord expects us to fulfil our resolutions (vows) just as He fulfils His promises (vows) to us. The godly way to live is to do all we promise to do and so imitate our Father in heaven.
As we approach the New Year it is good to consider how we have succeeded and where we have failed. Seek to sort through last year to learn how you stumbled and where you triumphed. Be encouraged by the victories won and consider setting any realistic targets for 2022.
If 2021 has found you disheartened and discouraged by numerous failures take heart. Always remember that our Father in heaven is the God of the second opportunity. He delights to come to the fallen, pick them up, dust them off, and set them once more on the pilgrim’s way to our eternal home.
Satan will do his best to keep you down. He will whisper in your ear lies such as, the Lord will disown you for what you have done. He will try to persuade you that you are beyond hope. He may even tell you that you are not even a believer after all.
Read the following penned by Charles Wesley and take heart. You shall yet be the victor and be reinstated to your place as a beloved child of God, a member of His church and an heir of His kingdom. As Wesley so movingly wrote: “Jesus weeps but loves me still.”
These are just four, but there are more. Take time now to think through them and address each one directly. Commit yourself to push these mental blocks aside instead of letting them push your witness aside.
Depth of mercy! Can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear?
Me, the chief of sinners, spare?I have long withstood His grace:
Long provoked Him to His face;
Would not hearken to His calls;
Grieved Him by a thousand falls.I my Master have denied,
I afresh have crucified,
Oft profaned His hallowed name,
Put Him to an open shame.There for me the Savior stands,
Shows His wounds and spreads His hands:
God is love! I know, I feel;
Jesus weeps, but loves me still!Now incline me to repent!
Let me now my fall lament!
Now my foul revolt deplore!
Weep, believe, and sin no more.
This content was originally posted at Rumford Ministries and has been reproduced with permission from its author.
Gordon began his full time work in the Christian ministry in the spring of 1966 when he graduated from Central Baptist Seminary in Toronto (now Heritage Seminary in Cambridge). Since then he has also graduated with an honours B.A. and an M.A. from the Religion and Culture department of Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo. Having experienced much adversity in his own life, Gordon has made it a life calling to help others who are experiencing similar circumstances. This he does as a prolific author and through Rumford Ministries.
