This Year I Promise
Text: Ecclesiastes 5:4, 5
We’re one month into the new year! Most of us have made resolutions or vows. We’ve decided that this year is going to be different! All of the things that we didn’t like in 2022 we want to change… and the things that we did like in 2022 we want to keep doing! The very definition of the word promise is…an agreement to do or not to do something; to give a basis for expecting. The definition of a vow is…a solemn promise made especially to God!
What did you promise that you would change this year? What did you tell God would be different? The truth is that many of us when we make a promise or a vow will find some way to back out of it or change our intentions…
We are like the man who was in the hospital…As the wealthy oil tycoon lay on his deathbed, his pastor talked of God’s healing power. “Pastor,” he gasped, “if God heals me, I’ll give the church a million dollars.” Miraculously, the man revived and within a few short weeks was out of the hospital. One day, several months later, he and the pastor chatted on the sidewalk in front of a hardware store. “You know,” the pastor said, “when you were in the hospital dying, you promised to give the church a million dollars if you got well. We haven’t got it yet.” “Did I say that?” the tycoon asked. “I guess that goes to show how sick I really was!”
I wonder how many vows or promises that we made in the first week of the New Year have already been broken and we find ourselves thinking…Did I really say that?
Wouldn’t it be great if we kept our decisions for 365 days? Can you imagine how much we would grow spiritually? Can you imagine how much stronger we would be if we would discipline ourselves to keep our promises? It can be done! When we say…I promise I will…it can be accomplished! What a great feeling it is to cross the finish line! Even if you weren’t the winner…you still win…because you finished! There is something to be said for consistency!
II Peter 3:18 – But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.
Wouldn’t it be great to say, “This year I promised…and kept my promises?” With God’s help…it can happen! Bring on 2023!