LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil

Friday 12th June 2026

A NEW RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 12:1-29

For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore._ Hebrews 12:18–19

God inaugurated the Old Covenant on Mount Sinai. On the mountain, there was a series of continuous thunders and lightning.  There was also fire and smoke with earthquakes. Amid all that, there was also a continuous blast of trumpets and warnings for the people not to break the breach.

The point of this vivid description of Mount Sinai and the giving of the law is that the Old Covenant evoked unbearable fear. The sight of the burning mountain and the ever-increasing blare of a trumpet, the darkness, storm and fearful threats directed even towards dumb beasts, created such fear in the people that they begged Moses to plead with God for relief. Even Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.” The fear of God’s presence was overwhelming.

Our passage for today reminds us that this is not the relationship we have with God under the New Covenant. God is the same but His relationships with people over time have not been the same. It’s important that we appreciate this as we study the Bible - that God’s pattern of relating with the children of Israel under the Old Covenant is different from that with His children under the New Covenant.

On Mount Sinai, the people stood afar from God. They were afraid to come before Him. They stood at the foot of the mountain and looked up to God’s power up there. This shaped their approach to God. They saw God as the one who was afar off. But God under the current dispensation has not brought us to Mount Sinai and into a terrifying relationship with Himself.

Sadly, there are some Christians who continue to have this view of God. They see the Lord as the Israelites saw Him on Mount Sinai – with fear and terror. God’s terror does exist, but for an appointed day of final judgment. Does He desire that we have this fearful perception of Him now? No. Instead, He seeks a loving relationship with us.

God does not want Christians to approach Him in terror. He wants us to come to Him as trusting children do, when they draw close to their loving father. He wants us to have the same relationship with Him as Christ has with Him.

God loves His children and invites them into a close relationship with Him that is devoid of morbid fear. There is a healthy reverence of God we need to cultivate. However, as we build that appreciation of Him, it must not be mixed with terror that drives us away from Him.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I stand before you today in faith. Thank you for reaching out to me in your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.