Wednesday February 1, 2023

Today is Wednesday, February 1 and we are studying what the Bible says about covenant.

Jesus, I am yours. As I approach the newness of a dawning day, I sit quietly in the joy of your presence and relish the comfort of your abiding love. Open the scriptures to me, speak into my life and teach me about covenant.

Pause and Pray

Holy Lord God, I am no longer my own, but yours. Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will; put me to doing, put me to suffering; let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you, exalted for you, or brought low for you; let me be full, let me be empty. Amen. (The Wesleyan Covenant Prayer, part 1)

I praise God for his goodness and worship him with the words of Psalm 105.

He remembers his covenant forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant. Psalm 105:8-10

Pause and Pray

The people of the promise, God’s covenant people, find themselves in Egypt. Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, but eventually rises to become a man of great power and influence. He is second to Pharaoh and acts as prime minister of the nation. During a famine he rescues his father and brothers and the entire family settles safely in Egypt. However, this time of peace and prosperity will not last. In future generations the Hebrew people living in the land of Goshen are enslaved by a new Pharaoh and forced into hard labor. Through all these twists and turns of circumstance, God has not forgotten his covenant with his people.

Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.” During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them. Exodus 2:21-25

Moses settled in a land outside of Egypt and started a family. A long time passed while he led a simple life tending the flocks of his father-in-law and having children with his wife Zipporah. God had a purpose for his life that Moses could not have imagined or foreseen. Circumstances change. There is death, a power shift, enslavement, brutality, suffering and the Hebrew people cry out to God. Circumstances change in my life too. There is death, disease, pain, suffering, grief, and lonely nights crying out to God. Has God forgotten? Is God still there? Does he see my tears? Does he hear my cries?

Ask: When have I felt separated from or forgotten by God? How have I experienced God’s concern for me?

Pause and Pray

Blessed Lord, thank you for the relationships in my life that bring me comfort and joy. You are so good to bless me with friends and family. Come and be with me in times of difficulty, hear the cries of my heart, see the places of my suffering, and reveal the oppressive forces which hold me captive. I cry to you for help knowing that you will remember your promises and respond in due time with care and concern. I read the words from Exodus again and listen for the message you have for me.

Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.” During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them. Exodus 2:21-25

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

God’s covenant is for me. The covenant includes my loved ones and descendants for generations – my children, and grandchildren and their children. I consider which words stand out to me today and how they inform the circumstances of my life. Words that reflect my inner emotions like crying for help, slavery, or groaning. Or words that reflect God’s response to my suffering like “God heard,” “God remembered,” “God looked on” or “God was concerned.”

Pause and Pray

Come, Blessed Lord. I invite you into the deep recesses of my soul, shine your light on my hidden struggles, turn up the volume on my muffled cries, set me free from inner taskmasters, and lighten the burdens of my heart. Thank you for your constant loving concern for me. Amen.

I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. Exodus 6:5

I leave this time of prayer blessed by a God who knows me and loves me. I go in the name of Jesus to love and bless others.

Amen