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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. Then he said to him, "I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess." But he said, "O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?" He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates. (Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18)
From time to time I will have the time to just stare up at the night sky. On clear nights when the lights of the city are not so bright, one can see many stars, and I think of that old man, Abraham, taken outside by God and told to count the stars. I chuckle remembering when I was little I tried counting the stars. I gave up quickly, for there are too many to count. And yet, that was the premise of the promise; God keeps promises. This old man, with no heir from his wife, is told that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. And he doubted. He had plenty of good reasons; I'm old, I'm old, and I'm old. Wrong on all counts. God kept his promise and who can count Abraham's descendents?
God has made a promise to be with us all of our days. Have we promised to be with God all of our days? God has promised to lead us through all things. Have we promised to do all things for God? The covenant of God made at our baptism still holds true, if we still hold on to God. I pray that we are, and that we are eager, ready, and willing, to do God's will for our lives and those around us.
PRAYER: LOVING God, help me to be obedient to my promises to You, for I know You are faithful to me. Help me know and obey the premise of the promise, and I will be blessed and a blessing to You. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
