God is a covenant-making God. God’s covenants are not agreements between equals, but arrangements offered by God which contain promises based on conditions [a]. We correctly focus on the New Covenant and keep in mind that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” (Heb. 9:22) The shed blood of Jesus was the sacrifice for sins to make the way for our salvation.
What we may not be aware of is that God also makes covenants not concerning sin. We read right over many available covenants (i.e., promise/condition) such as “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Ps. 37:4) Individuals can choose to enter into these covenants that have been made available by God.
In our personal relationship with Jesus, He also may speak to us a promise with conditions. If it doesn’t align with the Bible, then you didn’t hear it correctly.
Jesus did this with me. I had newly recommitted my life to Jesus when I got a job as an electronics technician (ET). Before that, I worked as a parts guy in a Chevy dealership. I’d never had an actual job as an ET, and I was now the only one for the whole company. My boss, a salesperson, led to the back of their building, showed me the workbench, and a pile of stuff that needed to be repaired, then he walked away. I was sweating bullets.
Most of the items had broken wires or apparent problems. Then I came to this device that had an 8″ x 16″ circuit board full of components and no schematic and it only partly worked. I knew I was in big trouble. I had never tackled anything like that and didn’t have a clue how to start. So, I bowed my head and prayed. I didn’t really understand what happened then, but God made a covenant with me. If I gave Him the credit, He would show me how to fix stuff. He led me, and I fixed that device.
I’ll give you one more example, though there are many more, just to drive the point home. There was a time when I was an ET for Columbia Records/CBS, yes, that one. As a courtesy to the local public library, some manager offered to fix a broken device they had. I was told to go pick it up and fix it. I brought it back, opened it up, and the other ET’s openly laughed. They knew I was a Christian and they thought I was now in deep trouble. They didn’t know I was in covenant with Jesus. A few minutes later I had it fixed and ready to return.
I’m not special, and God doesn’t love me more than anyone else. I have also seen these covenants with God in many other people’s lives.
“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” So, ask, if this is something you desire.
[a] paraphrase from Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
Photo by Thomas Jensen on Unsplash