Topic: Any Pending Vows? [Friday 5, May 2017]
Memorise: When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. – Ecclesiastes 5:4
Read: Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 (KJV)
4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?
Bible in One Year: Deuteronomy 2-3, Jeremiah 25:34-26:11, Hymn: Sing hymn 14
MESSAGE:
Our God is a God of faithfulness and He takes vows seriously (Deuteronomy 7:9). In Genesis 28:20-22, Jacob made a vow to the Lord at a time of distress and uncertainty in his life. Twenty years later, after the Lord had prospered Him, the Lord reminded him of the vow he had made unto Him (Genesis 31:13). Later, the Lord reminded him yet again of his vow and instructed him to move on from where he was to the place where he would fulfil his vow (Genesis 35:1-6). It does not matter how long ago you made a vow, God doesn’t forget!
“When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.” – Ecclesiastes 5:4
One of the lessons from the above passage is that you are not compelled to make a vow to God. However, if you do, don’t delay in redeeming it, or else God will regard you as a fool. It is important to know that in life; what comes or doesn’t come to you will be largely determined by your spiritual standing or status before God. If God sees you as righteous, He will release all the blessings reserved for the righteous upon you, as long as you ask Him. In other words, if your status before God is that of a righteous fellow, God will treat you with respect. He will treat you like he would treat His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who accorded you that righteous standing. However, if you violate His words and that lingers, it can definitely affect your spiritual status and change the way God relates with you. For instance, if you fail to pay your vow after so long a time, your status is changed from that of a righteous person to that of a fool. Eventually, you lose the honour, respect and royal treatment God accords to the righteous. Why? It is because a fool denies the existence of God (Psalms 14:1). In other words, if you believe God exists and is aware of your vow, you would hurriedly redeem it. When you do not pay your vow to Him, you are saying that God does not exist, and this puts you into the same category as King Nebuchadnezzar, who in Daniel 3:15 pompously asked, “Who is that God that can deliver you from my hands?” When God is thrown such a challenge, whether verbally, in thought or through actions, He is forced to accept the challenge and to prove His existence. Vow defaulters call for God’s divine hammer to fall on them. Some people make a vow or pledge to God, yet one or two months after God has kept part, they are still dilly-dallying on fulfilling their vow. Are you defaulting in your vows to the Lords? Ask God for forgiveness and immediately set out to redeem them.
Action Point: Take stock of all your pending vows and take steps to redeem them today!
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries.
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