I recently watched Louie Giglio’s Indescribable video where he expertly presents one aspect of God’s greatness by comparing our planet to the rest of the universe. If the earth was the size of a golf ball, the sun would measure fifteen feet in diameter. He then goes on to describe just how ‘small’ the sun in when compared to some of the stars in the Milky Way. Before you’ve had adequate time to ponder those truths, he hits you with more extraordinary facts about our single galaxy that is only a tiny particle when compared to the rest of the universe. When I looked up at the stars last night I realized that I had never considered that stars are so much larger than our planet. They are, after all, just a twinkle in the night sky. I felt in awe of just how big God truly is and how small I am. Still, the God of the universe tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made.
When God told Abraham to look up at the stars and count them if he could, Abraham likely didn’t have the Louie Giglio perspective on how vast the universe is. Yet, to a man who had no children, the promise of having descendants as numerous as the sand on the seashore and the stars in the sky was likely hard for him to fathom. How often do we feel the same way when God gives us a promise for our future? I am certain that we are all tested in the area of patience when waiting on its fulfillment! In Genesis 22 we read God’s command to Abraham to sacrifice his beloved Isaac—an act which certainly would seem contrary to the very promise he’d been given. If God indeed was to bless him with more descendants than the stars, then why would He ask Abraham to kill his only son? Still, Abraham believed God and did not limit Him on how the promise would be fulfilled. In verse 18, God says, “…through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” We see here that the promise was not only revived and affirmed, but was enhanced. His descendants would be numerous AND they would be blessed by the Lord because of Abraham’s obedience.
I believe that we will all be tested as we steward the visions and promises from God. God’s ways are indeed higher than our ways, so He may ask us to do things that outwardly appear to contradict the very direction of fulfilling the promise. Are we willing to lay down what is most precious to us and yield to God’s command? Do we really trust and believe that God will come through and keep His word or do we secretly formulate a backup plan? I believe that Abraham was at the end of himself as his took Isaac’s hand, perhaps feeling completely broken at the thought of losing him; yet with courage he chose obedience. My hope is that we will all find the resolve to place God in his rightful place as Lord over all areas of our life and that we will have the courage to remain faithful and obedient when we are faced with those difficult tests. I believe we will see the promise come to pass and my guess is that it will look so much bigger and brighter than we could ever have imagined. Our faith doesn’t need to be as big as a golf ball, only the size of a mustard seed.
When God told Abraham to look up at the stars and count them if he could, Abraham likely didn’t have the Louie Giglio perspective on how vast the universe is. Yet, to a man who had no children, the promise of having descendants as numerous as the sand on the seashore and the stars in the sky was likely hard for him to fathom. How often do we feel the same way when God gives us a promise for our future? I am certain that we are all tested in the area of patience when waiting on its fulfillment! In Genesis 22 we read God’s command to Abraham to sacrifice his beloved Isaac—an act which certainly would seem contrary to the very promise he’d been given. If God indeed was to bless him with more descendants than the stars, then why would He ask Abraham to kill his only son? Still, Abraham believed God and did not limit Him on how the promise would be fulfilled. In verse 18, God says, “…through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” We see here that the promise was not only revived and affirmed, but was enhanced. His descendants would be numerous AND they would be blessed by the Lord because of Abraham’s obedience.
I believe that we will all be tested as we steward the visions and promises from God. God’s ways are indeed higher than our ways, so He may ask us to do things that outwardly appear to contradict the very direction of fulfilling the promise. Are we willing to lay down what is most precious to us and yield to God’s command? Do we really trust and believe that God will come through and keep His word or do we secretly formulate a backup plan? I believe that Abraham was at the end of himself as his took Isaac’s hand, perhaps feeling completely broken at the thought of losing him; yet with courage he chose obedience. My hope is that we will all find the resolve to place God in his rightful place as Lord over all areas of our life and that we will have the courage to remain faithful and obedient when we are faced with those difficult tests. I believe we will see the promise come to pass and my guess is that it will look so much bigger and brighter than we could ever have imagined. Our faith doesn’t need to be as big as a golf ball, only the size of a mustard seed.