How Commitment Will Cost You (And Why It's Worth It)

Commitment and selfishness cannot coexist. When we have selfish motives and are led by self-centered desires, we can’t commit to anything outside our comfort zones. But when we are committed, we realize we must press past our comfort zones to come into our potential zones.

True commitment compels us to kiss our comfort zones goodbye. Your comfort zone is where you do what you want, when you want. It’s all about what you want, what you think, and how you feel. But when you are committed to something beyond and bigger than yourself, you are willing to get outside your comfort zone and you reach your potential zone.

We need to be committed to the call of God on our lives and the vision of the ministry God has given us. We must be committed to our relationships—our “covenant connections,” as I like to call them. And we must be committed to a strong work ethic.

These days, many people shy away from commitment. As a result, they miss out on all the blessings that result from true commitment.

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The ultimate commitment is a covenant. God has ordained for the establishment of relationships I like to call “covenant connections”—divinely arranged partnerships that will enable us to cross over to a place of limitless living in Christ. God is a covenant-making, covenant-keeping God, so it’s no wonder that covenant connections are so important to Him.

Here’s what the psalmist had to say about God’s covenant-keeping nature:

He remembers his covenant forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.” (Psalm 105:8–11)

God brings covenant connections into our lives that are directly related to our call and purpose. We must guard and strengthen our covenant connections with God and His people.

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Maybe other people have forgotten, or chosen to neglect, a covenant they made with you. Many people desire benefits of covenant but aren’t willing to do the work required to hold up their end.

But our heavenly Father never forgets or breaks His covenants. They are everlasting; they stand through thick and thin, no matter what. We should strive to live in such a way that the same can be said of our covenants.

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My definition of covenant is “your benefit at my expense.” We should enter into every covenant with that mind-set because covenants are a serious commitment before the Lord. Unfortunately, many people form covenants while thinking, My benefit at your expense. That’s not true covenant and it’s why a lot of marriages end in divorce. Too many people enter into a marriage covenant and have no idea what it really means.

In a true covenant, both parties are ready to lay down their lives for each other; they are willing to pay any price and make any sacrifice needed to guard and protect the covenant connection.

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Since God is the Creator of covenants, when we remain committed to our covenant connections, we reap divine blessings.

Our covenant connections themselves are designed to bless us. God ordains these relationships for our lives to help us cross over into our personal promised land and possess His promises. Covenant connections put us in the place where God wants us to be in order for us to fulfill His call and purposes for our lives.

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Just as we need to discern the covenant connections the Father has planned for us, we also need to discern when a relationship is not from God. We don’t have time to waste. Certain relationships may drain us emotionally, spiritually, mentally, or financially. These unhealthy, out-of-balance relationships aren’t covenant connections.

Covenant connections are life-giving, edifying, and mutually beneficial relationships in which both parties operate with a mind-set that says, Your benefit at my expense.

We should resist comparing our covenant connections with anyone else’s. I always say, “You don’t need a lot of people to like you; you just need the right one.” When you are in covenant with God, He will provide you with every human covenant connection you need.

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A beautiful example of covenant commitment is found in the biblical characters of Ruth and Boaz, whose story we read in the book of Ruth.

Ruth was a woman of rare commitment. She was committed to completing her God-given assignment and wholeheartedly devoted to her covenant connections, especially Naomi, the mother of her late husband, and her second husband, Boaz. Even after Ruth was left a widow, she made this declaration to her mother-in-law:

Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me. (Ruth 1:16–17)

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Ruth never grumbled or complained about the price she had to pay for being faithful to her covenant connections. She wasn’t focused on her own desires or personal agenda; no, she was committed to God’s plan for her life.

Her commitment earned the notice of Boaz, a wealthy man of upstanding character. As a result, she received her “Boaz blessing” and ultimately became his wife.

God was setting Ruth up for her Boaz blessing, but He was also setting Boaz up for his blessing.

Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!” (Ruth 2:19)

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Boaz was blessed because he took notice of Ruth and allowed her to glean the crops in his fields. But before he received the ultimate blessing of her as his wife, he gave his kinsman the chance to marry her. (See Ruth 4:4–6.) Boaz was “next in line” (Ruth 4:4) and he ended up receiving the blessing of Ruth because the other man refused to help her. Boaz was willing to pay the price and take the responsibility of marrying Ruth, a widow. With commitment comes responsibility, but it is always well worth the price.

Sometimes, the person at the front of the line doesn’t want to pay the price for the blessing. When the kinsman in line before Boaz said he could not be Ruth’s guardian-redeemer because “I might endanger my own estate” (Ruth 4:6), what he meant was, I won’t do it. He acted selfishly because he didn’t want to take a risk. So, Boaz received the blessing of Ruth, while the other man missed his blessing.

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We must be determined not to miss any of the blessings God has for us. If we aren’t willing to pay the price for God’s will, God always has someone else waiting in the wings who He will bless instead.

Don’t be afraid of what it might cost you, for God’s grace is always sufficient.

When you are in a covenant relationship with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, when you stay committed to your God-given assignments and relationships, there is no limit to what God will do in you, through you, and for you.

This article is an excerpt from Limitless Thinking, Limitless Living: Think Big, Ask Big, Expect Big, and Receive Big! Used with permission.

Danette Crawford is a powerful speaker, author, TV host and international evangelist with a refreshing message of hope and encouragement. Danette has a master’s degree in counseling from Regent University. She is the founder and president of Danette Crawford Ministries, which includes its outreach arm, Joy Ministries Evangelistic Association. She is the author of Limitless Thinking, Limitless Living (Whitaker House) www.danettecrawford.com

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