Permissible Promises Made to God

Day By Day By Grace
Bob Hoekstra
June 22, 2010

I will love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies. (Psalm 18:1-3)

The Scriptures are quite clear. God's work in our lives depends upon His promises to us, not our promises to Him. However, this does not mean that we are forbidden to express our love and devotion to God through promises made to Him. In this rich testimony from the heart of David, he makes two significant promises to the Lord. "I will love You, O LORD…I will call upon the LORD." As we examine what accompanies these promises, we will see the kind of promises that are permissible to make to God.

Loving God is the essence of our relationship with the Lord. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37). Our love for the Lord is in response to His great love for us. "We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). Long ago, the Lord had promised that He would be available to work in the heart of His people, if they were willing to love Him properly. "And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deuteronomy 30:6). The context of David's promises to love God indicates that He understood this promise from the Lord. "I will love You, O LORD, my strength." God was the one David was trusting in to give him the strength that was needed to walk in a loving relationship with the Lord.

As we grow in awareness of the love of God, we learn to call upon Him to deliver us in times of trouble. "I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies." David's promise to cry out to God in the midst of difficulties was based upon the Lord's praiseworthy character. David had called upon the Lord many times before, and He had delivered him. David had come to know the Lord (to experience Him) as his mighty protector. "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust."

As we noted previously, in Israel's promises to obey the law of God, they were depending upon themselves. In David's promises to love God and to call upon Him in times of trouble, he was depending upon the character and capacities of God!

Dear loving and rescuing Lord, my love for You is truly a result of Your work of love in my heart! Likewise, my cries to You for help are based upon Your many faithful rescues in times past! You are my God, my strength, in whom I will trust!