Pay Your Vows

But ·I will praise and thank you while I [L with a voice of thanksgiving I will] give sacrifices to you, and I will ·keep my promises to you [L pay what I have vowed]. Salvation comes from the Lord !” Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and the fish ·threw up [vomited] Jonah onto the dry land. - Jonah 2:9-10 EXB

Have you ever found yourself in deep waters or to make it plain some sort of trouble and wondered how will you get out of it? You know that it will take only the mercies of God to get you out of your trouble. It may be a court case, a situation on your job, trouble with the law, a bad car accident, financial distress or a health issue. 

Many times when we find ourselves in these situations we cry out to God to save us, to help us. We make vows to God only to end up not keeping them. We say things like, ‘Lord if you help me, I will serve you the rest of my life’. ‘Lord if you help me, I will volunteer at the soup kitchen’. We make all sorts of promises (vows). Most of the time we break them. We do not keep our side of the bargain. 

If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. Numbers 30:2 

When you make a promise to God, fulfill it without delay because God has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill what you promise. Better not to make a promise than to make a promise without fulfilling it. Don’t let your mouth make a sinner of you, and don’t say to the messenger: “It was a mistake!” Otherwise, God may become angry at such talk and destroy what you have accomplished. Remember: When dreams multiply, so do pointless thoughts and excessive speech. Therefore, fear God. Ecclesiastes 5:4-7 CEB

God heard the prayer of Jonah. He promised God, he will pay his vow. He realized onlyGod can save him. After his prayer, God spoke to the fish and vomited Jonah out on dry land. God is merciful my brothers and sisters. Jonah got a second chance to go and fulfill his assignment. God came through for us many times. We have seen His mighty hand at work in our lives, over and over. Why not just go ahead and fulfill our promise (vow) to God?! Fulfill what God has called you to do!