Profound Pledge
I have seen public leaders make a pledge, but I have to be honest that I don’t believe that they will carry it through. I also have heard politicians make promises and promptly break their promise. I must say that I’m a bit skeptical when people say they’ll do something because it doesn’t always turn out that way. In other words, some people say one thing and then do another.
The reading of the book that was found in the temple moved the youthful King Josiah. He had set out to clean out the closets, organize and renovate the temple, but this book was found that gave him direction for a new kind of renovation. Check this out….
1 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord. 3 The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord—to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant. (2 Kings 23:1-3 NIV)
This 26-year-old king, who really seemed to understand what it meant to follow the Lord, was determined to follow the Lord fully. He led by example. The elders and leaders of Jerusalem had not doubt about what the king believed to be truth. He not only read the words of this book but he renewed his covenant to follow the Lord fully. He challenged them to make the same pledge.
I remember making a pledge around 30 years ago called “The Pledge”. The pledge that I took was: “He died for me, I’ll live for Him”. I’ve been trying to live by that pledge for a long time. I fully intend to draw my last breath living for Him. Talk is easy and often cheap, but behavior requires commitment, promise and just plain “grit and guts”. It’s not always easy to follow the Lord, but it’s always the right thing to do.
I pledge to follow the Lord and study His Word all the rest of the days I have on this earth.
Pressing On!
Dwayne