A Covenant with God

I visited the place along the California coast where more than four decades ago Kim and I made our first serious marital commitment to each other. I walked the harbor, the pier, and the beach, remembering her. In our years together, she tended to be the gas pedal and the mover and shaker; I tended to be the seat belt and manager of everything. No wonder I didn’t become more of what she instilled in me.

I later realized something else: Because I lost her, I’ve become more broken, more stripped down, and more focused than I’ve ever been in my life. And because of that, I may finally be able to become that person in ways I’ve never been before.

Have you ever made a covenant with God? A covenant may be defined as formal promise between two parties. We see them in the Bible, and we see them in legal contracts. They belong in our lives too.

I’ve made a number of covenants with God in my life, and two of them stand out. When I first came to faith in 1980, I made this covenant: “If I’m going to live a Christian life, I want to go all the way and receive all that the Lord has for me. No mediocrity—if it’s of God, I want it.” No wonder I married Kim. Decades later, after too much busyness and too much of everything, including mediocrity, I made this covenant in 2016: “Give up your life’s goals and pursue Matthew 6:33.” As imperfect as I’ve been, both covenants have served me well. And God has been faithful throughout.

On this coastal beach I made a new covenant: “I will carry Kim’s fire—her legacy of faith, love, and prayer.” This is nothing to be proud of. It’s simply doing what I originally thought I would do on my own but didn’t because I got caught up in too much.

A covenant with God—especially in our era of low commitment—can be a valuable, life-directing and life-enhancing step to take. If you’re led by God and are serious about it, I highly recommend doing so. And if you do so, write it down and review it often.

Even if you’re imperfect at it, it’s still something to guide you and come back to. I speak from experience.

If you make a covenant with God, or if you’ve had the experience, let me know.
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I a few days I will go to Dangriga, Belize, for a month to begin figuring out details regarding moving down there in the fall.