August 5th Reflection by Bill Lynch

Genesis 15:1–6
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, 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, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Reflection
"And he believed..." Just a few words. A few mighty words of faith. A few words that brought forth an eternal relationship with God. How did God come to Abram? In a vision. God comes to us in many and varied ways. We look for God's presence and we even search for God. Usually we are surprised to find out that God was there all along. We just couldn't recognize God's obvious presence because we were spending too much time in our own little world to see beyond or even within it that God was there all along.

Was Abram in a trance? Possibly a dream, or having just gotten up in the middle of the night in confusion. I don't know, but God comes to Abram with the most common command of all... "Do not be afraid..." God comes to us and calms our fears. God comes to us and settles us down. God comes to us and grants blessings of love and grace. God comes to us and commands us to not be afraid. We don't need to fear when God is near. And God is near all the time.

But we have questions. We don't understand what God wants from us. We love our Father and want to do his will in a way that pleases him. It's good to ask the questions. It's okay to doubt and speak. It's fine to converse with God so that we get the message of his will and way.

In love God responds with a demonstration. Abram looks at the stars and God gives Abram a promise. Abram's descendants will be like those stars Abram is counting. The children of Abram are those that believe and have faith in God. The children of Abram are descendants of his blood and spirit.

"And he believed..." A few words from Abram and for me and you as well. Hear the command... "Do not be afraid..." Receive the blessing of a relationship of a Father that is always with you. Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Father, be present with me to lead and guide me... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen