Each of us has made a promise to God at one point or another. Maybe you were eight years old and promised to keep your room clean because you wanted your parents to gift you a puppy for Christmas. Or, you were 19 and prayed God would help you pass that test you were too busy partying to study for.
As entrepreneurs and believers in the Lord, we certainly have made at least one promise to the Lord. A commitment made in good faith when we were praying for God's hand to bring success to our ventures. Come on, I can't be the only one!
Think back to when you were in the planning stages for your business or even after you started the business. Did you tell God you would donate your entire first paycheck to some cause or another? Did you commit to give time from your schedule to provide free services, so your skill/business could help others in need? Did you promise God you wouldn't make any scrupulous deals? Or could it be that the Lord told you He would bless your business but He requested you give Him something in return? Something you agreed to do?
Whatever you promised to do is considered a covenant and God takes covenants very seriously. We are expected to keep our agreements/covenants/promises even when doing so hurts.
Therefore, if you made a commitment to God and have failed to keep it, now is the time to confess your sin, repent for your failure and get on track. I have personally seen how the failure to keep a promise to God has negatively impacted a business. The owner had to right his wrongs to see headway.
Don't think that God has forgotten the promise you failed to keep just because your venture is doing well. You might not notice any issues, but eventually the consequences of a broken covenant will show up. Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 - When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands?
God is patient, giving people time to correct their ways and that is why a person may not immediately see and feel the punishment for not keeping a promise to the Him. 2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
We cannot take that patience, that kindness and grace, for granted. Eventually, God's word will catch up with a covenant-breaker and that can mean punishment in a variety of forms. Never forget that the Lord expects us to keep our promises to Him because He keeps His covenants (Ezekiel 16:60; Hebrews 6:18). He doesn't break covenant with us even when we fail to keep our end of the bargain. Plus, despite knowing we will fail, He still gives us His word and remains faithful.
May the Lord help us to not make promises we can't keep. May He help us to keep the promises we have made to Him so He is pleased and His hand remains upon us and our businesses for good. May we receive His spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we do what He wants
and are not led by our flesh, IJMN, Amen.