Jeremiah 32:40
"I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me."
Reading the Fine Print
A covenant is a formal, sealed contract; a binding agreement between two or more parties. All of us are familiar with contracts. We are especially skeptical of the fine print. Usually, the deal looks great - until you hit the back page with the hundreds of tiny exceptions and exclusions, penalties and disclaimers.
God's contract or covenant with us is very different. There is no fine print, no waivers or disclaimers. His contract with us guarantees us certain things:
Let your mind and heart meditate on these three items for awhile. God will never stop doing good to us. How many of us have been tormented with the thought that God has forsaken us for something we have done? Or that He has given up on us? Or that we will forsake and give up on Him? He won't let us turn away from Him or His goodness - this we have guaranteed forever! Look at Psalm 23:6 - "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life..." Pursued by goodness! While the world engages in the "Pursuit of Happiness" we are pursued by goodness. Sometimes, we feel like trouble is always following us or God is out to get us but, trouble isn't following us - God is! and He is out to get us - with goodness and mercy!
In Isaiah 42:6, God says to Christ "I will keep you and will make you a covenant for the people."
The word covenant in this verse carries the meaning - guarantee. Christ is our guarantee of God's performance of the covenant or contract.
Hebrews 9:15 "For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance ..."
Notice that in this covenant, all of the obligations fall on God. Three times He declares, "I will." What God wills, God does! We need not worry about our security - God says He will inspire us so we never turn away from Him. This is just a part of the "good He does to us." He forgives, empowers, upholds, strengthens, comforts, loves, frees and delivers us.
Thought for Today:
Father, thank you for your everlasting covenant! Help me to see my safe and secure position in Christ. By faith, let me lay hold of these wonderful words in my heart. When troubles come, remind me of your everlasting covenant - fix my eyes on Jesus, my Guarantee of good!