THE COST OF PROMISES

 

THE COST OF PROMISES

Prov. 20:25 It is dangerous to make a rash promise to God before counting the cost. NLT

I don’t think most of us get this truth too well. We say things to God without giving much thought to whom we are talking to. We make promises that don’t come from deep within the heart. We often speak off the top of our heads without giving much thought to the implications our promises may have on our lives. We need to carefully think about this. God does not take what we say lightly. He fully expects us to keep our word to Him. It is easy to say we will submit to and obey the Lord, but it’s another thing to actually do it.

Have you made promises to the Lord that you have not kept? If so, what happened that you failed to keep your word? Did you forget? Or, perhaps your understanding changed and you came to realize that what you promised was not reasonable or even right before God.

We all are guilty of saying things that we think we mean, but don’t really mean them. We say things without counting the cost and discover later that the cost is far more than what we realized. It is easy to speak from our emotions without first thinking through what we are saying.

Let us be careful about what we say to the Lord. He takes very seriously our words to Him. He judges us by what we say for our words are rooted in the integrity of our hearts. It is dangerous to make promises to God that we don’t, or can’t keep.

If you have made promises that you have not kept to God, admit it and ask for His forgiveness. And, ask Him to keep you from rash promises. Ask Him to help you count the cost before you speak. Ask Him for greater control over your words. Ask Him to keep your heart pure so that what does come out of your mouth will be words you mean and can back up with your living.