How does God get your attention? I wonder if, like me, you notice how God gets your attention. You may observe a theme that repeats itself. For me, it’s birds. God has used various birds on different occasions to bring comfort and encouragement. One warm sunny morning on my back porch as bird songs chirruped, filling the air, I went inside to grab my journal, and when I returned, I encountered a red-shouldered hawk standing over a foot tall perching on the top of the fence just where my lawn sloped into a wooded area. The rare occasion it was, I stood breathlessly still. A moment later, with a blink of its eye and a cock to its head, it turned its great body around, showing its soft white-spotted plumage, and then quietly reached out its wings and disappeared into the forest. Undeniably, I knew God sent it.
What was God saying? I am here. I see you. I am in control. I am the same God who made Abraham a father of nations. I am the same God who caused Sarah, a post-menopausal woman, to become pregnant and give birth. I am the same God who made the sky blue, and if I can make the sky blue and the trees before you green, I can do what you ask. Just believe it.
When Abram was ninety-nine, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”
Genesis 17:1-2 NIV
In response, Abram fell before God to acknowledge him and listen. God continued to speak to him with a promise to make him a father and a father of many. God affirmed this by changing his name to Abraham, for he would be very fruitful. God also promised to give Abraham the land he was standing on. Then, he told Abraham the sign of this covenant. He was to circumcise the males in his household.
The covenant was an intentional sign of God’s loving, faithful care in man’s flesh. God’s people were set apart by this sign. They would be an example to all the nations around them and eventually bring the gospel of God’s saving grace through His Son Jesus to all the world.
Then God renamed Abraham’s wife, Sarai, to Sarah, from my princess to princess of nations.
When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.
Genesis 17:22 NIV
So Abraham obeyed God and took all those born in his household or bought and circumcised them. And as promised, she had a baby the following year, at age ninety. And everyone laughed in the face of the odds.
What might God reveal to you in the face of a hardship or relationship? Reflect on what He has done in your life.
Prayer: Father, thank you for your Holy Spirit who lives inside me, who speaks the truth. Lord, help me be attentive to your word, prayer, and the circumstances around me that align with your truth. Thank you for being the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a God who is reliable, loving, and forgiving. Please give me the grace to follow through with anything I know you want me to do. Thank you for my relationship with you where, with each step of faith, you draw me closer in intimacy and enjoyment of you.
Leave a Reply