The Samuel Project (Day 2): God Speaks to Abram

There are times when it feels like a certain trial, or combination of trials, will be the absolute death of you. I know. In a five year time span, my husband and I dealt with miscarriage, depression, medical emergencies, cancer, job loss, and divorce either in our immediate or extended family. We still deal with the rippling effects of several of those circumstances. Can we all just agree that life is hard?

What I Read:

Genesis 15:1-14

What He Said:

God addresses these harsh realities of life with Abram. We like to identify with Abram, don’t we? We hope that, faced with a seemingly impossible promise from God, we would believe and be counted as righteous. That would certainly be my prayer.

In this passage, however, we are not Abram. You and I? We are the descendants, the offspring, of Abram. And do you know what God said about us? He said that we would be temporary residents in a land that is not ours. We would be pilgrims and wanderers.

Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs…” – Genesis 15:13

This place is not our home. So, it should not be a surprise to us when it does not feel like home.

God also tells Abram that he can “know for certain” that his offspring will be afflicted. Does anyone out there feel a little afflicted? It’s painful, I know. It can be scary and heart wrenching and wearisome. If you are there right now, can I share something with you straight from the mouth of God?

But I will bring judgement on the nation they serve, and afterward… – Genesis 15:14

You are going to want to read that one a couple times. I promise you that it is an absolute gem that will carry you through a whole lot of mess.

But, afterward… Do you see it? Oh, it may not feel like it now. This may seem to be the one trial, the one heartache, that you will never recover from. You must remember that your God is a promise-keeper and He promises an afterward. This thing does not end here. You are in a foreign land and you will hurt and you will struggle. You will shed tears and your heart will get broken. But there is an afterward. The trials are not as never ending as they seem. He will bring you through it and you will reach the other side. And, when you do? It will be great.