Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them. (Ps. 76:11)
Do you know families who are avid sports fans? Maybe your family is one. I remember playing basketball with my family at Christmas as a teen. My wife’s family loves to play pickleball when they get together. In my wife’s family, whoever is playing with my father-in-law is very likely to win. It does not matter whether you are playing pickleball, ping pong, or euchre, his team almost always seems to win.
Psalm 76 makes it clear which team we want to be on—the Lord’s team. Sometimes God let the enemies of Israel win, but only when his people had been faithless. When they were committed to the Lord, they always won.
In Psalm 76:11, the psalmist advised Israel to commit to the Lord, to make promises to him. His side is the winning side. If you remain with him—and keep your vows—you will ultimately be on the winning side.
Of course, life does not always look that way. Sometimes circumstances look like we are on the losing team. There are a number of psalms that express frustration that the wicked seem to be winning. We have to look at such things with an eternal perspective. While it may not always look like good is winning, God has his reasons. In the end, God wins every time and for all time.
Promise God that you will always be on his team.
Ken Schenck is vice president for planning and innovation at Houghton College (NY) and a professor in New Testament. He previously served as dean of Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University.
© 2021 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
