Covenant is NOT Convenient...

Happy New Year friends, This is our first blog post of the year, and there’s something we need to talk about. It’s been on my heart for weeks so let’s address it to start the year with the right heart posture.

It’s uncomfortable. It’s confronting. But it’s necessary.

Let’s talk about what we’ve learned to tolerate and how it separates us from God. What we expect from God and what He asks of us.

Before we go any further, I want to share that throughout this post I’ll be referencing David Guzik’s Bible commentaries. Lately, his work has become a personal favorite in my study time because of how clearly and faithfully he unpacks Scripture.

Now, here’s the tension I’ve been sitting with.

I’ve been watching how often we expect the promises of God to manifest in our lives, His protection, His healing, His peace, His favor, His provision, His covering, while we continue to live lives that are completely disconnected from Him.

We quote Scripture. We post verses. We sing and post worship songs.

And yet we still embrace the ways of the world and then ask God to explain why things aren’t changing in our lives.

God’s Promises Are Powerful, but They Are Not Detached from Relationship

God’s promises are real. They are true. They are trustworthy. But they are not detached from covenant, obedience, or relationship. Those promises are not isolated statements floating in the air. They are rooted in covenant, and covenant requires participation.

Scripture never presents God’s blessings as automatic or unconditional apart from Him. They flow from a life surrendered to God, not a life merely associated with Him. Let’s take Psalm 91 as an example. It is one of the most quoted and sung chapters in the Bible, especially in times of fear or uncertainty. But Psalm 91 is conditional, and the condition is established in the very first verse:

• “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1)
  

Everything that follows: deliverance, protection, angelic assignment, victory, flows from dwelling. Dwelling means abiding. Remaining. Living there. David Guzik explains that the “secret place” is not a physical location but a life lived in close fellowship with God, marked by trust, obedience, and submission to His authority (Guzik, Psalm 91 Commentary). So if we are not dwelling, if we are living in ongoing, unrepented sin while only invoking God’s name, we cannot expect the rest of Psalm 91 to apply to us. Let’s take healing as another example.

Many of us pray for healing and boldly declare, “By His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). That Scripture is true, powerful, and eternal. But it is also a covenant language. Healing flows from the finished work of the cross and is received by those who are in relationship with Christ, who acknowledge, honor, and submit to what was purchased through His sacrifice. Healing is not a magic phrase we quote. It is a promise released within covenant.

To be in covenant means we don’t just believe Jesus died, we live surrendered to what His death accomplished. We recognize that His blood didn’t only pay for healing; it paid for freedom, deliverance, and transformation. When we ask for healing while knowingly living outside of His will, we are asking God to override principles He Himself established.

And I want to be explicit here, not to shame, but to bring clarity.

Imagine battling a health condition and, in one breath, asking God to heal you…but in the very same breath, continuing in gossip, lying, sexual sin, unforgiveness, or compromise. Do we really expect healing to flow through open doors of disobedience? Scripture reminds us that sin gives the enemy legal access. When those doors remain open, what comes is not healing, but oppression, delay, and often what the Bible refers to as a spirit of infirmity (Luke 13:11). God is willing. God is able. But covenant requires alignment. I’ve seen it, and honestly, it grieves me. People wake up and post a prayer. Then a worship song. And ten minutes later, a horoscope or astrology post, looking to the stars for guidance while asking the Creator of the heavens to intervene.

That is not dwelling. That is double-mindedness.

Scripture is clear that we cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24), and James tells us that a double-minded person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord (James 1:7–8). God does not share authority. Covenant demands exclusivity. David Guzik explains that God’s promises are never disconnected from obedience and trust; they flow from relationship, not ritual or repetition (Guzik, Commentary on Isaiah 53). The power is not in the quoting, it is in the submission. God is not withholding healing, He is inviting alignment. When we align, fully, honestly, humbly, His promises are not delayed. They are released.

When We Quote Promises Without Obedience

This is where we need to be honest with ourselves. We cannot continue fornicating, lying, engaging in pornography, walking in sexual perversion, practicing deception, or tolerating compromise and still expect God’s covering to function as though the covenant has not been violated.

Scripture tells us plainly:

• “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” (Galatians 6:7)
  

David Guzik notes that expecting God’s blessings while refusing God’s authority is not faith, it is presumption. And presumption always produces frustration, confusion, and spiritual stagnation (Guzik, Galatians 6 Commentary).

This isn’t about perfection. It’s about repentance.

A Form of Godliness Without Power

Scripture warns us about having “a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:5).

We see this everywhere.

We talk about God. We identify as believers. We use Christian language.

But our lifestyles remain unchanged. David Guzik explains that this form of godliness keeps the appearance of faith while rejecting the transforming power of repentance and obedience (Guzik, 2 Timothy 3 Commentary). And when sin remains unrepented, it opens doors—real doors—to spiritual oppression.

• “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” (John 10:10)
  

The enemy hates us. He hates what Christ accomplished on the cross. And he looks for access wherever it’s been granted. God is faithful, but God is also orderly.

What We’ve Normalized That God Warned Against

We’ve also grown dangerously comfortable with things God explicitly warns against. Astrology. Horoscopes. Crystals. Witchcraft dressed up as “spirituality” for example yoga.

Scripture is not unclear:

• “Let no one be found among you who practices divination or sorcery…” (Deuteronomy 18:10–12)
  

David Guzik explains that turning to other spiritual sources for guidance is a direct rejection of God’s sufficiency and authority (Guzik, Deuteronomy 18 Commentary). Astrology fractures faith. Witchcraft is rebellion made attractive. Scripture tells us plainly that we cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons (1 Corinthians 10:21). There is no neutral ground. So the next time someone asks you about your “sign” you should rebuke them and claim that you are a child of God and renounce any covenant that you have made with the kingdom of darkness out of ignorance.

The Enemy Isn’t Omniscient, but We Make It Easy

Satan is not omnipresent. He is not omniscient. He does not know everything. Yet we freely expose ourselves through oversharing, unguarded relationships, compromised entertainment, and unclean influences. Scripture instructs us to “guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23). David Guzik notes that discernment is not fear, it is wisdom and spiritual maturity (Guzik, Proverbs 4 Commentary).

My Own Testimony

I want to say this humbly and honestly: I did not come to these convictions untouched by sin. I walked deeply in many of the very things mentioned here. I fell prey to compromise, deception, and behaviors that dulled my spiritual sensitivity.

Story time…

In my early to mid twenties, I was truly fighting for my life spiritually. I found myself in unhealthy relationships, surrounded by manipulative and abusive friendships, making decisions that led to more confusion than clarity. More things were going wrong than right, and even though I didn’t always show it on the outside, inwardly I was exhausted, angry, sad, and spiritually lost. One day at work, desperate for answers, I started searching the internet. I wasn’t looking for God. I was looking for change. I wanted to transform myself: how I looked, how I thought, how I felt, and how others treated me. I don’t remember the woman’s name, but I remember what she promised. She spoke about knowing your future, what your star meant, and how fortune and alignment would come based on your sign.

I subscribed.

Week after week, I read those newsletters. I started living my life based on what my horoscope said was aligned for me. Anytime I picked up a newspaper, the first thing I turned to was the horoscope section. I even bought a book that mapped out my monthly “alignment.” Looking back now, I can say it plainly: it was witchcraft. All of it. What makes this even more sobering is that at the same time, I was still praying to God. I asked Him for better friends. A better boyfriend. A better job. I was unhappy at work and hated my coworkers and wanted new ones. I felt sad, angry, and sick all the time. Even though on the outside I had lost weight, looked good, and even participated in a national pageant, the spiritual battle was very real. I would pray to God while also feeding myself those weekly newsletters, horoscopes, and books rooted in darkness.

And things only got worse.

Eventually, I stopped astrology because something didn’t feel right. I claimed a dumb “sign” nothing changed, no fortune, no prosperity, no healing, the only thing that changed was my outward appearance. Why? Because there were still open doors. I was still fornicating. Still gossiping. Still lying. Still compromising. Those open doors gave the enemy legal access, and no amount of posting Scripture verses or worship songs could change my situation. The worship songs moved me to emotion but did nothing to bring relief or freedom. Freedom came when I truly repented. When I separated myself from the influence of the kingdom of darkness. When I renounced my participation in witchcraft, because that is exactly what it was. When I came into the knowledge and understanding of what was required of me as an heir of salvation and committed to it fully. Only then did I begin to see the fruits of salvation in my life.

For years, even in my early twenties, I battled hypertension, today, it is no more. God uprooted abusive friendships and unhealthy relationships, removed people who were never meant to stay, and taught me what healthy friendships truly look like. I am deeply grateful to say I now have the most amazing friends. He blessed me with meaningful work and a job that provides. I no longer live under constant infirmity, confusion, or lack. God truly saved me.

It was the living proof of Scripture: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6) I thank God for saving me. I thank Him for renewing my mind, sharpening my awareness, and exposing sin for what it truly is. Scripture tells us: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2)

That truth sits at the very heart of this ministry, Hearts Renewed: Transformed by Grace, Renewed for Purpose.

We Are Not Called to Live Beneath the Covenant as believers.

We are blood-bought. Redeemed. Empowered. Not to survive, but to walk in truth, freedom, and authority through Christ Jesus. But that life requires surrender. Repentance. Separation. Obedience.

Even when it costs us comfort. Even when it challenges relationships. Even when it exposes what we’ve tolerated for too long.

An Invitation

If you are reading this and not yet a believer, I say this to you, salvation is not complicated, it is surrendered.

• “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9–10)
  

You can pray simply:

• Lord Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God. I believe You died for my sins and rose again. I repent, I surrender my life to You, and I receive You as my Lord and Savior. Amen.
  

A Closing Prayer

Lord, as we step into this year, search our hearts. Reveal anything that keeps me from dwelling fully with You. Uproot everything You did not plant according to your word in Matthew 15:13. Close every demonic door I opened knowingly or unknowingly. Renew my mind, sharpen my discernment, and lead me in Your ways. I choose truth over comfort, obedience over compromise, and You above all else. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

This year doesn’t need to feel new. It needs to be surrendered.

And when the heart is renewed, everything else follows. With Love, Ketisha