Commit

Every year we commit ourselves to something new, weather it is our job, our family, a diet plan, sports teams, actually following a devotional pattern, some might go down the road of drinking, smoking, marriage is another commitment that people make, and some of us it just my be school. I know for me, I committed to school and baseball every year I was in high school because I wanted to be the best student athlete that I could be. I made sure that I showed up to every practice, every class, and that I would excel at what I was becoming. Making a commitment is pretty much the same as a promise if not the same; this is because you are saying that you will give what ever it takes to fulfill that commitment. I know that I need to step up my commitment to school so that I can give my all and do well this semester and I intend to start doing that. I know there are commitments that I have made that I have not seen all the way through and I know that is not a good thing but I am admitting that I made mistakes. I sometimes over commit myself and that tends to be a problem for me and it is something that I need to work on. I am sure all of you have made commitments at one point or another and you know that when you break them, it can be one of the worst feelings in the world but when you repeatedly follow it you have a sense of accomplishment and you should. I have made some commitments to Christ in my life and I do not think I have sincerely made the ones that I have said I was going to make and I end up breaking them in the end. When we make a commitment, there should not be a doubt in our mind that we are not going to go through with it because a commitment means giving 100% to that thing.

We see a good example of commitment in 1st Kings 19:19-21 when Elijah approaches Elisha to make him his successor as a prophet. It is stated, "So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. 'Let me kiss my father and mother good-by.' He said . 'and then I will come with you.' 'Go back,' Elijah replied. 'What have I done to you?' So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant. " What a great example we see of commitment to God and to the call on which has been brought upon Elisha. He burned everything he had for farming and he killed all of his oxen so that he could not return even if he wanted to. He gave up everything to answer the call and he did not want to look back. All he asked was that he say goodbye to his family because he loved them dearly but after that he was all business. I know that God has called me and he has told me I need to leave some things behind me but there are times when I just do not want to because I am scared to let go. I am trying desperately to go all out 100% but I cannot do that until I let go of some things. We are bombarded with images, language, and actions everyday that try to pull us in and break our commitment to God, our partner, our friends, our family, or just any other thing we have committed to. God does not like to have to battle for attention because he deserves more than that. He deserves attention and he should not have to compete with the world in order to gain it. He wants everything from us or nothing. His cause is a higher cause and will give us more than we could ever imagine if we just give it all up for his Kingdom and let him take over. He has thrown his cloak around us and said here is your position but he will not wait around forever for us to make an answer, we either will go or we will not.

I hope you all had a great day and that you continue to seek God with everything you have. If you are not a Christian and you are looking for something, I am not going to push anything on you but just keep searching because He is out there waiting to meet you. If you have questions about what I write and what I believe, do not be afraid to ask because I would be more than happy to discuss with you. I am praying for all of you and I know that God is going to continue to do great things.

God Bless,

Joseph Robinson