ESOCS Devotional 14 December 2023 – God’s Covenant and Blessings
MEMORY VERSE: “And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.” Genesis 17:2
TEXT: GENESIS 17:1-14 (KJV)
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
You have something great — a relationship, friendship, or position at work. If God told you to give that up, would you? It wouldn’t be easy, but what if God only wanted you to give that up to give you something greater?
God made a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 17:10: “This is my covenant which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.”
Abraham might not have wanted to give up his comfort to carry out his part of the covenant. But, God tells Abraham in Genesis 17:2, “…I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.”
God didn’t make this covenant with Abraham to hold him back or take something away, but to place Abraham in a position to be blessed. Giving things up isn’t always easy, but it makes room for the blessings God wants to give us.
Maybe God wants you to let go of that relationship to bless you with a better one. Maybe He wants you to give up that great position at work to jump start something new. God never wants us to give something up to hurt us, but only to prosper us (Jeremiah 29:11).
When God tells us to give something up, let’s not look at it as a loss but as an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to listen to Jesus, to grow, and to open our hands for Him to bless us.
- When was the last time God told you to let go of something? What was it? Have you done it yet? If not, what is one step you can take today to let go of it?
- Father, grant me grace to walk in thy covenant and let Your blessings be poured out upon me in Jesus name.
FURTHER READING: Genesis 44:18-34; John 6:41–58; Revelation 19:1–12
ESOCS Devotional 14 December 2023
