How does God get your attention? I wonder, if like me, you take notice of 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.
God Appears
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, 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 down before God to acknolwedge him and listen. God continued to speak to him with a promise to make him not only a father, but 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 very land on which he was standing. 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 a part by this sign and would be an example to all of the nations around them and to 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 of those born in his household or bought and circumsiced 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 be revealing to you in the face of a hardship or relationship? Reflect on what has He done in your life.
Father, thank you for your Holy Spirit who lives inside me, who speaks the truth. Lord help me to be attentative to your word, to prayer, to 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. Give me the grace to follow through with anything I know you want me to do. Thank you for the relationship I have with you where, with each step of faith, you draw me closer in intimacy and enjoyment of you.
Leave a Reply