You were promised by God to Abraham.
How do those words speak to your heart? Do they make it “jump for joy”?
Doesn’t the idea that the Most High Himself spoke of you cause you excitement…at least a little bit?
Or are you a bit incredulous and need hard “head” proof before you are going to allow any fickle “heart” emotions to kick in?
Ask and you shall receive. 🙂
First, let’s stroll back to the first book of the Bible and join Abraham when he was still called Abram:
The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted” (Genesis 13:14-16, English Standard Version).
Two chapters later the Most High assures less-than-confident Abram that he and Sarai would have a child:
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” (Genesis 15:5-6).
Now let’s zoom over 1,000 years forward to Paul trying to keep the Galatian church out of the grip of Judaizers:
Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith (Galatians 3:7-9, emphasis mine).
Next time you look at the dust of the earth or all the stars in the clear night sky…
I kind of prefer the latter. 🙂
Next time you look at the dust of the earth or all the stars in the clear night sky…
Remember you were promised thousands of years ago to a man of faith, and let it strengthen yours.
UPDATE: Dust of the earth…stars in the sky…and “sand that is on the seashore”!:
And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies” (Genesis 22:15-17).
See why it’s great reading the Bible cover-to-cover? 🙂
P.S. My favorite part of Scripture where we are specifically mentioned is when Jesus prays for you and me:
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:20-22, emphasis mine).