Fear Not

Read Genesis 15:1-5

God has given all these promises to Abram, a land, a great name, many descendents. He has even seen God watch over him and bless him as he enters into Canaan and wards of enemies that seek to invade the land. But all these promises require something that is impossible for an old man and a barren woman. They need a child, they need one descendent if they are to have many of them.

Abram brings this before God, he fears because one of his workers will inherit the promise not his actual descendant. So what does God do? He takes him out under the stars, a sky so full of stars you could never count them all. So God promises his descendents shall be as innumerable as the stars.

God begins by telling Abram, fear not for I am your shield. Abram had witnessed that as God empowered and protected him as he laid waste to the kings from the East in the previous chapter. But now he shall witness God as his shield in another way.

Psalm 18:2 says “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

He is my shield, the rock, my refuge. He is not just a shield in that he protects us from physical harm, but he also shields us from spiritual harm. Satan would have been assaulting Abram’s faith, “you are old, your wife is barren, how could you possibly believe in this promise from God?”

How does God act as our shield in those moments? He reminds us of his promises. As Christians you are under assault every day, Satan is seeking to mislead you, tempt you, discourage you, and fill you with doubt and unbelief. We do not need the tips to be able to overcome him and his assaults. We need the promises that remind us that God will protect us and provide for us.

God didn’t give Abram a new promise, he just found a new way to encourage him that he would be faithful. Now everytime that Abram would look up at the skies he would be reminded of God’s promise to him. 

My friends we forget the promises of God, but they are the very thing that ensure that we shall be kept and guarded during the hardest and worst days of our lives. We must engrave them upon our hearts and minds. For there will be many days where they are the only thing you can hold onto.

Prayer:

“Father, this world is a battle, a spiritual battlefield, and we need protection. By myself I would stumble and fall, and perish. But you are my shield, and my refuge, your power and strength gives me hope in the midst of the storms. Help keep my faith steadfast in you. In Jesus name Amen.