January 28th

What Nothing Tells Us About God

Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images. (For you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.) Exodus 34:12-14

You have a stalker. He’s big and strong. He watches your every move. He can even be scary, more frightening than anything you have ever imagined.

His name is Jesus, and He is jealous for you. He is God, and He is so jealous for His people that He told Israel that He was jealous for them six times in just one chapter. And this jealous God has not changed; He is jealous for your heart today just as He was jealous for Israel then.

He’s jealous for your time. He’s jealous for your talents. He’s jealous for your treasures. He is jealous for your heart. He is jealous for the covenants that you’re making with others instead of with Him. He is jealous for you like a groom is jealous for his bride.

And, you know, I think sometimes people want to relegate God’s jealousy to the Old Testament, but God Himself brings it into the New Testament for us. James 4:5 says, Or do you think that the scripture says in vain, The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously’?.

That is the Spirit of Christ. That is the third member of the Trinity still and forever jealous for you, yearning jealously for your time, wanting to walk through life with you, not wanting you to put your trust in any other place or in any other name.

And while we’re in James 4, look at verse 6, But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ In other words, God is saying, Look, I know what you’re going to do. I know you won’t always be faithful. I know you’ll make covenants with other things, with other gods besides Me. But you’ve got to know this about me-I’m a jealous God.

The Holy Spirit yearns jealously to not just be a spoke on our wheel or not just a slice in our pie called life. He wants to be everything for us.

No matter what you have done in your life, no matter where you’ve been, God remains loving, faithful, transparent, and oh so authentic. He will never leave you, remaining jealous for your every thought.

Will you embrace His jealousy for you today?

Prayer Lord God,

Thank You for being jealous for me. If I knew how jealous You are for me, I know that I would care more about being faithful to You. Please show me Your jealousy for me today!

Amen