Can ONE Thing Really Change EVERYTHING?

David CerulloBy David Cerullo7 Minutes

God’s covenant relationship with His people is a message central to everything He says or does in the pages of Scripture. The Lord wants us to call upon Him for supernatural breakthroughs, and that’s why He often describes Himself in terms of the covenant benefits He offers:

When you’re facing sickness, you can call upon your covenant God as Jehovah Rapha, “The Lord who heals” (Exodus 15:26).

When you need a financial breakthrough, you can trust Him as Jehovah Jireh, “The Lord will provide” (Genesis 22:14).

When you’re dealing with emotional distress, you can draw near to Him as Jehovah Shalom, “The Lord is peace” (Judges 6:24).

When you’re feeling lonely, you can experience the loving embrace of Jehovah Shammah, “The Lord is there” (Ezekiel 48:35).

If you or a loved one are struggling to break free from enemy strongholds and addictions, you can cry out to Him as Jehovah Tsidkenu, “The Lord our righteousness” (Jeremiah 33:16) and Jehovah M’Kaddesh, “The Lord who sanctifies [makes holy]” (Leviticus 20:8).

If you’re desiring a more victorious Christian life, you can trust God as Jehovah Nissi, “The Lord is my banner” (Exodus 17:15) and Jehovah Sabaoth, “The Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 1:24, Psalm 46:7), meaning that He’s the God of angelic armies and a mighty warrior on your behalf.

Friend, a covenant relationship with your Heavenly Father truly can change EVERYTHING in your life. Your health. Your financial outlook. Your peace of mind. Your relationships. Your victory over sin and Satan. And every other area of your life as well!

When you understand your privileges as God’s covenant partner, you will enter into the amazing blessings of a Great Exchange. You’ll trade…

Your sins for His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Your sickness for His health (1 Peter 2:24).
Your poverty for His wealth (2 Corinthians 8:9).
Your weakness for His strength (Joel 3:10).
Your sadness for His joy (Isaiah 61:3).
Your weariness for His rest (Matthew 11:28-30).

At the cross, Jesus took upon Himself all of your sins, fears, diseases, and liabilities. In exchange, He gave you a whole new life.

In Christ you’re a “new creation,” and that means “old things have passed away…ALL things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Instead of having to rely upon your own human strength and ingenuity, Romans 8:11 says you’re empowered by the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead!

Beauty for Ashes

In Bible times, one feature of every blood covenant was an exchange of some kind of property. Swords, shields, robes, and all sorts of other things could be exchanged by the covenant partners, signifying that “Everything I have is yours!” Today the closest thing we have is the exchange of wedding rings during a marriage ceremony, but some of the significance seems to have been lost over time.

In our covenant relationship with God, He mostly exchanges His assets for our liabilities. For example, Isaiah beautifully describes the benefits that would be brought by the coming Messiah:

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poorHe has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” (Isaiah 61:1-3 NIV).

Where there is poverty, God promises to bring good news. If you are brokenhearted, He offers to bind up your wounds. If the devil has held you captive to some destructive habit, the Lord comes to set you free.

If you’re mourning and grieving some loss today, God wants to comfort you. Instead of the ashes of defeat, He offers you “a crown of beauty.” He wants to replace your mourning with His “oil of joy” and your despair with His “garment of praise.” All of these blessings are available through “the Lord’s favor” and the power of His Spirit.

A New Covenant

The New Covenant brought by Jesus includes a fulfillment of all the previous covenant promises God had ever made! Paul described this astounding principle to the Corinthians: “ALL the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us (2 Corinthians 1:20). And in Christ we have “EVERY spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:3).

You see, when God gave you His Son Jesus, it was a pledge to give you everything else you would ever need:

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32).

What an incredible covenant we have in Christ! Through our relationship with Him, “God has given us EVERYTHING we need for living a godly life” (2 Peter 1:3 NLT). Remember: Your covenant relationship with your Heavenly Father is the ONE thing that has the power to change everything.

God Bless You,
David Sig

David Cerullo