Some people do not feel unchosen because nobody noticed them. They feel unchosen because somebody did, and then watched them fail. A marriage that ended. A job lost for good reason. A habit that outlasted every promise. After enough of that, you start to believe your record is your name.
If that is you, the Bible has a lot to say, and none of it is a pep talk.
1. The pattern is real
In his Breaking Covenants teaching, Pastor Alan started with honesty. Adam and Eve broke their covenant. Hosea 6:7 says, “Like Adam, they transgressed the covenant.” Israel broke it through idolatry and disobedience. Jeremiah 11:10 says, “They have broken the covenant I made with their ancestors.”
His notes put it plainly: this shows a pattern that we tend to break covenants we make, not just with God, but with anything we bind ourselves to. That includes the vow you made to yourself in January.
Why start there? Because you cannot hear good news until you stop pretending you are fine. The people in the Bible were not fine. Neither are we. Admitting it is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of it.
2. God did not fix this with better rules
Rules written on stone could be broken, and they were. So through Jeremiah, God promised something new. Jeremiah 31:31-34 says He would make a new covenant and write His law on human hearts, not on tablets.
Think about what that means for a person who feels like a failure. God did not just hand out a stricter list. He promised to change the place where the list lives. Hebrews calls this a better covenant with better promises (Hebrews 8:6-13).
And Jesus sealed it. Matthew 26:28 says, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” The seal is His blood, not your résumé.
3. Grace carries the weight
Pastor Alan’s notes make a careful point here: because humans still fall short, forgiveness and reconciliation are secured by Christ’s finished work rather than human perfection. In plain words, your standing does not wait on you getting your life together first.
Romans 5:20-21 says, “But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Notice the word reign. Grace is not a footnote. It rules.
Ephesians 1:7 adds, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.” Redemption. Forgiveness. Riches. None of those words are about what you earned.
4. Weakness does not disqualify you
Maybe your struggle is not an old failure but a present weakness. You are tired. You are anxious. You keep losing the same fight. Look at what Paul heard when he asked God to remove his thorn. 2 Corinthians 12:9 records, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Verse 10 says, “When I am weak then I am strong.”
Pastor Alan’s notes explain that this weakness caused Paul to rely on Christ all the more. So the thing you want to hide may be the very place where you learn to lean. That is not a reason to stay stuck. It is a reason to stop hiding.
5. What to do on Tuesday
Pastor Alan’s closing line in this series is worth holding onto: “The New Covenant doesn’t just reconcile you to God, it empowers you to break every other covenant you’ve ever made.” That includes the agreement that says, “This is who I am, and it is not good enough.”
So be specific. Name the label you have been wearing. Say it to God without dressing it up. Then ask what the new covenant says about it, and read Jeremiah 31:31-34 out loud. If you need help, tell a pastor or a trusted believer. Do not carry it by yourself.
Then do one ordinary thing without apologizing for your past while you do it. Make the call. Fill the shift. Sit with your kids at supper. Grace did not wait for you to be impressive, and neither does the next ordinary thing.
Today’s Victory Church meets Sundays at 3pm in White House, Tennessee. Thursday Bible Study is at 6:30pm. Come as you are, record and all.
Scripture in this piece: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Romans 5:20-21; Ephesians 1:7; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Hosea 6:7; Matthew 26:28