I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows. Psalm 61:8
(Ref: Psalm 61)
I remember coming up and hearing this song being sung, “I made vow to the Lord and I won’t turn back.” I also remember the mothers telling us, “don’t make a vow that you don’t intend to keep.” In those days, they put the fear of God in you and I’m not talking about reverence. That resonated and has remained in my spirit over the years; it definitely has impacted my life and my walk with the Lord. Making a vow or a pledge to the Lord is a position we must take, not out of fear but out of reverence.
In this passage of Psalms, David is feeling sad and depressed and didn’t want to do anything because he didn’t think he could do anything about his present situation. Yet, the passage still exudes worship and confidence in the Lord. In reading background, we could paraphrase and say that David was tired of living and just wanted to die because nothing was as he had hoped. He felt as if it was too much for him to bear and he felt inadequate. He said his heart was weak; he didn’t feel brave enough to fight and didn’t have the strength to go on. But David knew that he was wrong, even in his thinking. He knew who God was, He knew what God had done and He knew God was not only his source, but also his resource. When he came to himself, he began to cry out and ask God for help. If there was one thing David knew without a doubt is that God heard his prayers. He said, “I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed, you are my refuge, my strong tower, my covering, and my very present help in a time of need. I know that my weeping may endure for a night but my joy comes in the morning, and my joy comes from you. Even David has to draw on the very words he's penned. We have to go back on draw from some things that God has brought us from or from His Word.
Sometimes, I understand that we may feel as David felt. He had a lot on him but God knew that He could count on David. It’s the same for us and God is counting on us as well. It won’t always be a bed of roses; we’ll cry sometimes, we will be sad and depressed at times; anxiety is real and it happens to all of us, in some form or another when we become overwhelmed. But also like David, we have to remember who our Source is and from where our resources and our help come. When we come to ourselves and consider who God is and the promise we’ve made to Him, we’ll ask for His help. We’ll recall that He is our refuge, our covering, and our strong tower when we are overwhelmed with life issues. Although, our heart is overwhelmed, we must not forget that God is the source of our comfort. We can take everything to Him in prayer. Isaiah 65:24 says, “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”
When we make a vow or pledge allegiance, it means to make a solemn promise, to perform, carry out, and live in accordance to what we’ve said we’ll do; a word we’ve given in regards to our loyalty, our commitment, and our faithfulness to the Lord. We shouldn’t take that lightly. God is faithful in His promises and the vows that He made to us. Let’s be committed to love, prayer and devotion to Him, not because of the wonderful things He does and can do for us but for who He is; because He is God! Let’s worship and be confident in Him. These two alone will communicate a commitment on our behalf and a feeling of fullness in our spirit that overflows in joy for the God we say we love and serve. These two will show up very clearly, in our behavior and in our actions. Someone needs to see that in you. You might be the only Bible they ever read. We must desire, as well as pledge ourselves to serve God faithfully, always in our worship and our service to God, who is our confident hope. Whatever our circumstances, situations or concerns of life, we should be determined that He will be our focus, our joy, our peace, and our praise.
David said, “I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.” He made that vow and commitment to the Lord and this was the main thing for him, so let us also keep this main thing, the main thing! Come on and say it with me, “I pledge allegiance to the Lord!”
Until the morning, be blessed,
Cynde
(Ref: Psalm 61)
I remember coming up and hearing this song being sung, “I made vow to the Lord and I won’t turn back.” I also remember the mothers telling us, “don’t make a vow that you don’t intend to keep.” In those days, they put the fear of God in you and I’m not talking about reverence. That resonated and has remained in my spirit over the years; it definitely has impacted my life and my walk with the Lord. Making a vow or a pledge to the Lord is a position we must take, not out of fear but out of reverence.
In this passage of Psalms, David is feeling sad and depressed and didn’t want to do anything because he didn’t think he could do anything about his present situation. Yet, the passage still exudes worship and confidence in the Lord. In reading background, we could paraphrase and say that David was tired of living and just wanted to die because nothing was as he had hoped. He felt as if it was too much for him to bear and he felt inadequate. He said his heart was weak; he didn’t feel brave enough to fight and didn’t have the strength to go on. But David knew that he was wrong, even in his thinking. He knew who God was, He knew what God had done and He knew God was not only his source, but also his resource. When he came to himself, he began to cry out and ask God for help. If there was one thing David knew without a doubt is that God heard his prayers. He said, “I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed, you are my refuge, my strong tower, my covering, and my very present help in a time of need. I know that my weeping may endure for a night but my joy comes in the morning, and my joy comes from you. Even David has to draw on the very words he's penned. We have to go back on draw from some things that God has brought us from or from His Word.
Sometimes, I understand that we may feel as David felt. He had a lot on him but God knew that He could count on David. It’s the same for us and God is counting on us as well. It won’t always be a bed of roses; we’ll cry sometimes, we will be sad and depressed at times; anxiety is real and it happens to all of us, in some form or another when we become overwhelmed. But also like David, we have to remember who our Source is and from where our resources and our help come. When we come to ourselves and consider who God is and the promise we’ve made to Him, we’ll ask for His help. We’ll recall that He is our refuge, our covering, and our strong tower when we are overwhelmed with life issues. Although, our heart is overwhelmed, we must not forget that God is the source of our comfort. We can take everything to Him in prayer. Isaiah 65:24 says, “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”
When we make a vow or pledge allegiance, it means to make a solemn promise, to perform, carry out, and live in accordance to what we’ve said we’ll do; a word we’ve given in regards to our loyalty, our commitment, and our faithfulness to the Lord. We shouldn’t take that lightly. God is faithful in His promises and the vows that He made to us. Let’s be committed to love, prayer and devotion to Him, not because of the wonderful things He does and can do for us but for who He is; because He is God! Let’s worship and be confident in Him. These two alone will communicate a commitment on our behalf and a feeling of fullness in our spirit that overflows in joy for the God we say we love and serve. These two will show up very clearly, in our behavior and in our actions. Someone needs to see that in you. You might be the only Bible they ever read. We must desire, as well as pledge ourselves to serve God faithfully, always in our worship and our service to God, who is our confident hope. Whatever our circumstances, situations or concerns of life, we should be determined that He will be our focus, our joy, our peace, and our praise.
David said, “I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.” He made that vow and commitment to the Lord and this was the main thing for him, so let us also keep this main thing, the main thing! Come on and say it with me, “I pledge allegiance to the Lord!”
Until the morning, be blessed,
Cynde
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