After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. (15:1-6)
When the Lord appears to Abram and promises a reward, Abram doesn’t say, “Wow, God! Thank You!” He feels free to complain about his childless state. He even says it’s God’s fault: “You have given me no offspring” (Genesis 15:3). That was part of the reward that God had promised (besides the land) and it still wasn’t happening. God isn’t upset by Abram’s honest words. Rather, He takes Abram outside to show that his descendants would be more numerous than the stars, which were too numerous to count. He had already made this promise, but as mentioned previously, sometimes God’s promises don’t come to pass for a while. He kindly reminds us of them.
God wants relationship with us. It is good to be honest with Him; be open to hear His response and believe Him. What God promised to Abram seemed so impossible. But Abram “believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). Abram’s trusting God’s promise is how Abram was regarded by God as righteous.
One very practical promise that God has kept in my family’s life has been His promise to provide as we “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). For years I saw God provide in all sorts of amazing ways, as we were often in a position of “living by faith.” And then in one season, we were “in the red” (in debt). We had food, clothing, and shelter, but we were not making ends meet. I felt free to ask God, “What’s going on?” I can’t say that I received a clear answer, but the fact remained that we always had what we needed, and eventually God got us out of the red.
Prayer: Thank You, God, that You desire relationship with me and that I can be honest with You. May I have the simple faith to take you at Your Word, O God! You are God alone, and what you promise will come to pass. You promised to take care of me and to be with me. And You have kept those promises. Thank You!
