The concept of covenant is quite difficult for us western world folk to comprehend. A covenant was an agreement made between 2 parties in such a way that it invoked the name of God as a witness to the agreement being made. Typically the 2 parties would sacrifice a sheep or a goat and the animal would be divided into 2 equal parts. The covenant was made as they stood together between the divided parts of the animal. The inference being that if either of the 2 parties was to break the covenant they would meet the same fate as the animal they stood between.

Strictly speaking the use of the term covenant with God isn’t entirely possible since God and man cannot stand in the same place as equal partners in an agreement so we need to understand that in this case God met with Abram and made a promise that he would increase his family line, bless him spiritually and materially, make the name Abraham (as he would eventually become) great and that Abraham would become a blessing to others. It was a deep and intensely sincere promise.

We may find ourselves making promises to God on occasion. We promise we’ll be more faith filled, we promise we’ll pray more or behave better or we might promise that we’ll live better for Him. The trouble is that we often find ourselves promising things that we can’t deliver. Abram was true to his promises and God most definitely kept his side of the bargain. The difficulty we often face is in knowing how much we are able to commit to without setting the bar too high for ourselves. Striving to do our best is wonderful but our goals also need to be realistic and achievable if we are to maintain the confidence to keep pressing forward in our walk with God.

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Questions:

What promises have you made to God? Have you been able to keep them? How do you feel when you fall short of the standard you’ve aimed for?

Prayer:

Lord God open my eyes to the simplicity of a healthy relationship with You. Help me to see the things that you are calling me into and to know how much I can realistically hope to achieve in Your wisdom and power. Bless me Father as I walk with you. Amen.