God double-promised

In the midst of waiting, expecting and hoping for God to move in a way that we have prayed,do you have questions?

“O Lord, did I hear you wrongly?”

“Did God really said that? Or was it just me?”

In the midst of praying for a loved one’s salvation, I experienced that.

It has been so long that I prayed, and Lord, I know it is Your will too.

But I do not see things improving or changing.

Someone in the Bible had a similar experience.

His name is Abram. Abram had received the promise that God will make him a great nation (Genesis 12).

Years went by and Abram did not see it coming to pass. He and his wife Sarah got older and the chances seemed to diminish as time went by to have a son.

One time, it was written that the Lord came to Abram in a vision. And God assured him again, that his descendants shall be many and great.

“Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if your are able to number them.”

And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

Genesis 15:5-6

And the Lord went on to say that He is the Lord, who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give him the land to inherit it.

Abram asked a very honest question. Although it was just written earlier on that Abram believed in the Lord, where it was accounted to him for righteousness. Few lines below, Abram had a different take.

And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” Genesis 15:8

This question really tugged at my heart. It was like Lord, how do I know that what you promise will come to pass? That Abram too, so called the Father of Faith, had this moment.

How did God respond?

If my child were to ask me, “Mom will you pick me up later after school?”

And I said, “Yes, I will. See you later after school.”

If he responded by saying, “But Mom, how will I know that you will really pick me?”

My first response will definitely be, “If I say I will pick you, I will pick you. What do you mean by asking that? Don’t you believe what I say?”

Abram here, was conversing with God. The Creator and the Almighty God. If He says something, His Word is good and true.

As humans, there are times where we fail to see that due to our weakness. Even though He has promised, many factors contribute to us having doubts as to will God really do as He has promised?

In response to Abram’s question, God asked him to bring some animals ; a heifer, a female goat, a ram, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon, and cut them in two, down in the middle except for the birds. The pieces were arranged opposite of each other.

Abram fell into a deep sleep and God appeared as a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. And it was written that the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying to his descendants, God had given the land for them to inherit.

In response to Abram’s doubt, if I can say that way, God cut a covenant with him.

In those days, when you made a covenant with someone, it involved blood and sacrifices. The “ritual” was done to “seal” the promises made. A blood covenant communicated a self- maledictory oath. The parties involved would walk the path between the slaughtered animals so to say, “May this be done to me if I do not keep my oath. This type of oath-making was also mentioned in Jeremiah 34:18-19.

However, there was a significant difference here in Genesis 15. Notice that Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him (Gen 15:12), and God alone passed through the animal pieces. The covenant was sealed by God alone. Nothing depended on Abram. Everything depended on God, who promised to be faithful to His covenant.

When I read and understood this, my doubts, insecurities and many questions just dissipated. My God, the Almighty God, the One who has a say over everything, whose very words created life, takes the time, the effort to address Abram’s doubt. That was enough for me.

As God promised Abram with His spoken words, that it was more than enough coming from who He is. God did not have to reassure him. But here we saw that God went to the extent of cutting a covenant with him (as if His words are not good enough). It was like God double-promised Abram! And, the covenant solely depended on God alone, releasing Abram of any obligation on his part.

Here, we also saw a glimpse of God’s heart for us, his people. How wonderful is our Abba Father. Is there anything today that is in your heart, that is causing you to be burdened for it has not been answered? Ask God about it and listen to what He says. And as you wait on Him, remember how He graciously reassures Abram. And hear how he reassures and quiet you with His love today.

“The Lord God is in your midst, The Mighty One , will save;

He will rejoice over you with gladness,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing.”

Zephaniah 3:17