Today's Reading: Genesis 15:8-12
Some vultures came down...but Abram chased them away. Genesis 15:11
WHEN THE LORD told Abram that he was preparing to make a covenant for him, he asked him to make a sacrifice. God told Abram, "Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon" (Genesis 15:9). Abram was to sacrifice the animals on an altar he had built. He did as the Lord asked, and soon the birds of prey came swooping down on his camp. "Some vultures came down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away. That evening, as the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep. He saw a terrifying vision of darkness and horror" (15:11-12).
Vultures come in many forms. You may have friends and family laugh at you, scoff at your faith, roll their eyes at your prayers, plant seeds of doubt in your mind. They've read the story of Abraham, and they remind you that you are "definitely no Abraham." And the temptation will be to believe them.
Some vultures get inside your head and manifest themselves in the form of negative thinking. Who do you think you are? Why would God take the time to make a covenant for someone like you? They'll come to you at night and affect your dreams, bringing nightmares and visions of darkness.
And some birds of prey find it more effective to simply get in your way and blind your vision. They throw obstacles in your path and try to steal your time and keep you from praying. But don't let them do it. When you've set your heart and mind on asking God for a covenant blessing, don't allow the enemy to distract you. Stay the course and remain faithful until you hear from him.
A. V. 9-10 The Challenge Of Preparation - God's request is for Abram to prepare a sacrifice. This whole event was how men in ancient times made a covenant with one another. They would cut animals in half and arrange the pieces several feet apart and walk between the pieces together. It symbolized the sacredness of a man's word. It said, "May I be like one of these animals if I break my part of the covenant." For Abram, it took a lot of costly, hard, bloody work to prepare things like the Lord wanted them to be. We need to remember that when the Lord makes a requirement of your life it will often require you to commit to some hard work, The great things of God do not come easy, they do not come cheap, nor do they come to the lazy. God's best is reserved for those who are willing to pay the price.
B. V. 11 The Challenge Of Protection - As Abram waited for the Lord to come by and meet with him, the birds of prey began to descend on the animal carcasses. Abram had to shoo them away to protect the sacrifice from being devoured. When the Lord begins to move in your life, you can count on the fact that every vulture in the world will come against you to devour what the Lord is trying to do in your life. If we allow them, many vultures will try to take away our time, our concentration, or commitment to the Lord and His work. We need to be on guard to protect what the Lord wants to do in our lives and allow nothing to hinder or prevent us from seeing it come to pass.
C. V. 11 The Challenge Of Patience - I get the impression that this activity took Abram most of the day. He is in a holding pattern. He has the sacrifice ready, he is guarding it and the Lord doesn't show up until after darkness has fallen. It was a time that required patience on the part of Abraham. God never runs on our schedule! We try to get ready for Him and line up with what He is doing in our lives. We wait and we wait for Him to show up and move in us and through us. He will, but only when He is ready! Therefore, if the Lord is working in your life, be patient and wait on His timing. Don't rush in as we have a tendency to do, just wait patiently on Him and He will bring it to pass, God knows the timing, we do not!
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