Have you ever been in love? Someone once said that being in love is like touching heaven with your very hands. You are minding your business when suddenly, you are in love and you feel like you can take on the world just to keep your person happy. It is a feeling that you cannot explain to anyone else. No wonder Solomon said:

Proverbs 30:18-19 The Passion Translation (TPT)

There are four marvelous mysteries that are too amazing to unravel — who could fully explain them? The way an eagle flies in the sky, the way a snake glides on a boulder, the path of a ship as it passes through the sea, and the way a bridegroom falls in love with his bride.

Regardless of how incredible being in love is, it is still much easier to separate from someone you love if you are not married to them. However, when you fall in love and end up marrying that person, then the whole game changes. You earn rights and privileges that no one else has when it comes to your spouse. You also earn the ‘right’ to make sacrifices that you would not make for anyone else. Marriage is a covenant. You cannot end a marriage on a whim like you would do a relationship. Ending a marriage is disastrous. You end up fighting about small things such as who goes with that gold teaspoon, how that painting should be a payment for all the crap you’ve had to take in the marriage, or even the big things such as who gets custody of the kids. 

In the same way, knowing and loving God is like being in love. There are so many believers who believe in, and love God. Unfortunately, very few of these believers are willing to get into a covenant with God. 

What is a covenant?

Remember the story of Ruth and Naomi? How Ruth promised to go with Naomi wherever she went? To have Naomi’s people as her own? To love Naomi’s God? Now that is the accurate representation of what a covenant is. Ruth did not make these declarations at a time when Naomi had the most to give her. She made a promise to stick with Naomi even though at the time, everything looked so grim. 

A covenant is an agreement (written) between two parties for the performance of a certain action.

Biblically, a covenant is an agreement between God and His people, where God’s people get to enjoy certain promises if they maintain a certain conduct.

Traits of a covenant

1. A covenant is binding

A relationship is not regarded as a covenant since it is often non-binding. A marriage is a covenant since both parties are bound to it. Covenant living, like marriage, includes coming into a binding agreement with God to live in a certain way.

 Galatians 5:25 (NIV)

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

The road to heaven is not the expressway; it is a narrow road. This means that if you come with your baggage, you will have to lay it down at some point if you are looking to continue with the journey. This is why the author of Hebrews encouraged the believers, telling them: 

Hebrews 12:1 NKJV

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

It is impossible to walk with God, to keep in step with the spirit without choosing to get into a binding covenant with Him. 

A story is told in the Bible of Daniel, Meshack, Shadrack, and Abednego and how they refused the king’s delicacies, choosing to only eat vegetables and water. These four men did not hate meat, wine, and other luxuries offered by the king. But they knew that these delicacies were just weights that would hold them back in their walk and trust in God.

2. Every covenant is rewarding

Thank God that the rewards that come with choosing to be in a covenant with Him are more rewarding than the weights that we lay down. This is what happened to Daniel and his friends after three years of vegetables and water:

Daniel 1:19-20 NKJV

Then the king interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they served before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm.

 

There is an elevation that comes with having a covenant with God. There are outcomes that you may have been desiring that will only come when you choose to enter into a covenant with God. 

Picture the story of a young man who has worked hard to get everything that he does in life. However, the minute the young man gets married, what was previously his becomes the property of him and his wife. He may have worked so hard to build himself a house but when visitors come over, they will treat that house as if it belongs to the wife. 

There is another person who has always desired to have someone to connect with and be silly together. When such a person gets married (to the right person), they finally get to stay up late watching cheesy movies or making silly TikTok dances. Entering a covenant of marriage means that each partner gets to enjoy certain privileges that they otherwise would not have enjoyed outside of the covenant. 

There is a covenant available for every reward that you want in life. There is a way of life that you can choose to follow and it will give you the rewards you are looking for. 

3. Every covenant is demanding of sacrifice

If as a single person, you are looking for a partner with certain qualities, you must sit with yourself and ask this, “am I deserving of such a person?”

If you are looking for a lady who prays for 10 hours, do you pray yourself or are you looking to just become her daily prayer point? If you are looking for a faithful man who will love you as Christ loved the church, are you faithful yourself? 

Proverbs 31 was written by Lemuel’s mother. The mother starts by telling the king how a king should behave and the things that should never be part of his life. She then continues to give him a description of a woman fitting of a king. Proverbs 31 woman will not get married to just any man. Proverbs 31 king will not just marry any woman. 

If you are looking to get certain outcome in life, you must be willing to make the sacrifice. 

When it comes to walking with God, every outcome you are looking for has a story and a sacrifice behind it. Are you looking to become the Paul of our time, rightly diving the word? You need to study the life of Paul and the sacrifices he made. Do you want to become like Ezekiel? Prophesying to the dry bones and seeing crazy visions? Are you willing to live as he did?

To get the outcome and the rewards you have been yearning for, you must be willing to meet the demand that God has been asking from you. 

The covenant of spiritual living

There is a covenant that you make when you are seeking to intentionally walk with God. 

Job 31:1 NKJV

I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.

Loving God is not all about the mushy mushy stuff. To love God is to obey Him. This means that if like Job, God makes a demand on you not to look lustfully at a young woman (or man), then you need to obey. 

Jesus told the disciples:

Luke 9:23 NKJV

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

They say that something must kill a man. This means that someone might be very strong in the face of an alcohol temptation, but will fall prey to jealousy or greed. Like Samson, that ungodly trait that you are allowing to become part of you will cost you everything. You need to separate yourself from it. In your walk with God, you need to learn the thing that kills you and daily offer yourself to the refiner’s fire. 

God is spirit. This means that we cannot please Him if we choose to live in the flesh.

This is the essence of the covenant of spiritual living. 

If you are looking to lead a spiritual life, then you must be willing to discipline your heart; to limit the influence of the flesh. 

Jesus is standing at the door, knocking. There are crazy possibilities that he has made available for you, only if you’ll hear his voice and open the door.

Father grant us the grace to live for you. Grant us the grace to lay down every weight and every sin that easily entangles. We allow you to consume everything that is not of you in us. Until we attain that which you have set for us. Until we become like you. In Jesus’ name, we pray.

Amen.