Message: God made a covenant with Abraham and
that covenant included both sides keeping their word in that covenant.
Command: Obey the covenant
Promise: God promised Abraham he would make many
nations out of him through his wife, Sarah.
Warning: Any male who fails to be circumcised will
be cut off from the covenant family for breaking it.
Application: Reading about this covenant made me
think of all the promises in the bible that we as Christians like to hold claim
to. Every one of those promises includes an act of obedience. In this case,
this was the second time God promised Abraham he was going to make nations out
of him. The first time Abraham and Sarah couldn’t see it happening in the
proper time and they doubted it could happen through them so they took it into
their own hands when Sarah told Abraham to sleep with her servant and Abraham
did. At this point in scripture, Ishmael was now 13 years old and Sarah had
still not become pregnant when God came to him a second time to make this
promise. I’m sure it had to have seemed hopeless at this point. I relate to
this as I sit here thinking about certain promises I have been waiting for for
years and I think about all of the times I have tried to take things into my
own hands to make it work. All God has ever asked of me during this time is for
my obedience. He has not held me responsible for making these promises happen.
Just my obedience. Even if it takes years. Even if it seems like it will never
happen. I think as Christians we often get mixed up with the fact that
salvation is free and cost us nothing to obtain it, but once we accept his gift
of salvation we enter a covenant with God which requires our obedience. Today I
am asking God to show me the areas of my life where I am not walking in
obedience. I’m not talking about mistakes or areas where we fall short. I’m
talking specifically about things I am completely ignoring whether intentional
or unintentional. I want my covenant with Jesus to be marked with faithful
obedience. Not perfection. Just obedience and the willingness to continue
striving through areas that aren’t in full obedience.