More than you think
Scripture Reading: Genesis 15: 1 - 5 (NIV)
After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Message: More than you think
Don’t be afraid
After this…
After Abraham’s calling in Genesis 12 (call to worship)
After what happened in Egypt - deceitfully giving (or borrowing) his wife to the Pharaoh
After the split-up with his nephew Lot
After having to go back to resque his nephew Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah (Lot’s wife turning into a pilar of salt later in Genesis 19)
After Abraham’s been around, God comes to him with the words: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
It is God reminding Abraham of his promises
It is, notably, God telling Abraham not to be afraid, because we tend to get worried and overcome by fear when things don’t happen as we think they should
It is God telling Abraham that He is a shield for him - shielding him from all the bad things happening around him
And it is God assuring Abraham that he will be rewarded for his faith and obedience
Maybe this what you need to hear today: Do not be afraid, God is your shield, God will reward you…
But what about…?
But… (a big but) Abraham asks: “Lord, what can you give me, since I haven’t seen an heir?”
Essentially, Abraham is asking God about the purpose of his life
So much time has gone by and so many things have happened, but God did not give him a child to take over the reins
Now Abraham is left thinking how his legacy will unfold…
Is it all going to go to his faithful servant Eliezer of Damascus?
Abraham says to God: Lord, I hear all that you are saying, not to be afraid, and that Your are my shield and that You will reward me…
But what about the one thing that is missing in my life?
We sometimes wonder ourselves, don’t we?
We hear about God’s promises in our lives
We hear that God is calling us to serve him
We choose to follow Jesus in this secular world - a very unpopular choice
We live our lives committed to God
And then the “buts” come
But what about your promises, oh God?
But what about the future, oh God?
Why does it have to be so hard, oh God?
Why do I have to suffer, oh God?
Why can’t it be easier, oh God?
Look up - look beyond
God reacts by telling Abraham that this is not the end of it
No, Eliezer, your servant, will not be your heir
And God promises that Abraham will have a son - his own flesh and blood
And then, God tells Abraham to look up to the sky and count the stars… saying, “so shall your offspring be”
And we know today that the promise of God materialized - Abraham did have an offspring
He did become a great nation as God promised
He was blessed
And he was a blessing to the world
But in this moment, Abraham had to look up
God showed him the stars…
He had to look up, beyond what was in front of him
He had to get a glimps of the future
His mind had to be lifted out of the slump that his mind went into
Sometimes, we need to look up, don’t we?
Sometimes, we need to look at the stars!
Sometimes, we need to look beyond our circumstances
More than you think
Abraham would never have been able to imagine an offspring like the stars from where he was standing
But he had to see it
He had to look up and look beyond
The controversial and creative author, Rob Bell, wrote a book that is called: “Drops like stars”
It is a metaphor that describes how light reflects of a drop splashing onto hard surface in such a way that it looks like a star
And drops may be from the storm in our lives
Drops may be from the tears we are crying
But if we look closely, we might just see the stars in the drops falling around us
God did more than Abraham could ever think
God wanted Abraham to see the stars
God will do more than you think!
Today, God wants you to look up at the stars!
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