To Fail in Commitment

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.

Proverbs 16:3

Can I be honest with you? There are times when I say I’m doing something for the Lord, when I’m really not. Sometimes I do things for myself under the impression that I’m doing it for the Lord. To tell you the truth, I sometimes like words of affirmation a little too much. I know I’m not the only one who does this either. But it is one way of failing to commit to the Lord.

Maybe you aren’t like me though. Maybe when you say you are going to do something for the Lord, you are going to do something for the Lord. But then, something goes wrong, wrong in your eyes. Your project took an unexpected turn, something you didn’t plan on happened. Do you find yourself taking back control of a project? Do you give God initial control of your plan or project only to take it back upon yourself? This is yet another way you can fail to commit to the Lord.

But maybe you don’t have an issue with taking back control or pretending to do something for the Lord. Maybe you give your plans, projects, or tasks fully and completely to the Lord. So much so that you don’t put in any effort yourself. How many times have you been disappointed that your plans and tasks weren’t successful? Especially since you gave it to God? Let me ask you, regarding the unsuccessful tasks, what part did you play? What did you do? If nothing, that’s the problem.

You see, these are but three ways we “commit to the Lord,” but actually fail in doing so. When you are pretending to do something for the Lord, you aren’t committing to him at all. When you give the Lord control but don’t like how things are going so you take it into your own hands, you’re fighting against God and could go down the wrong path. And when you give the whole situation completely to God, not acting whatsoever, you’re treating our Father like a genie.

This is what I’m learning in my walk with God:

To successfully commit to my Father, I have to want to. My heart has to be in it. I have to want to give him control. Not let my selfish wants guide me, like wanting all the glory and attention for myself. Pretending to do something for God, but actually doing it for myself is a pride issue.

I have to trust in committing everything to the Lord. When I give the situation to God, I have to believe that the result will be worth it. No matter what happens, God has the best in store. Wanting to take back control is a trust issue. Things start taking unexpected turns and that can scare me. I have to let my faith and trust be greater than my fear.

I have to act in committing to the Lord. He loves it when we activity pursue him and his will. When I give him the situation, he will guide. But in order to guide me, I have to follow. I can’t give him control and not do anything. It’s like feeling the Holy Spirits prompting and conviction, only to ignore it. The situation won’t progress if I don’t work with God following his guidance. He wants us to follow.

When we commit to the Lord, we want to. When we commit to the Lord, we trust him. When we commit to the Lord, we follow his guidance. We want what he wants.

So, yes, when we commit to the Lord whatever we do, he will establish our plans. We just have to genuinely commit.