June 27 | Genesis 15:1-6
PRAYER PRACTICE
SPOKEN PRAYER: Out loud, pray for God to speak to you through your reading. Praise God for giving us His word. Ask the Spirit to help you read with faith, and to live out what you hear from God through the passage.
DAILY READING
Genesis 15:1-6
REFLECTION
God Himself Is Your Reward
by Pastor Dave Mann
Genesis 15 is one of the richest chapters in the entire Bible. The first of two points to which I wish to draw our attention is verse 1b:
"I am your shield, your very great reward."
What do people typically consider a worthy reward from God?
Health? Safety? Prosperity? Peace? Joy?
Small potatoes!
God promises himself as the very great reward. Nothing less than the ultimate. If we long for something other than God himself, we are settling for something that is minuscule in comparison to what God promises.
It is amazing that after this astounding promise, Abram dares to whine that he does not have a suitable heir for his property. This is something much less than God himself being the reward.
Secondly, how are we made to become people that will be acceptable to live in the presence of this very great reward, in the presence of a holy God? In verse 6 we find the phrase that has echoed throughout the Scriptures and the hearts and minds of believers for millennia. “And Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.” (See also Romans 4:3-22 and Galatians 3:6.)
How do we develop a “worthiness” suitable for the presence of God?
Not sinning? Good deeds? Crossing our fingers and hoping for the best?
Nothing of the sort! When would we have confidence that we had done enough?
It is only when we believe that Jesus himself has provided all we need that we are considered righteous. Then we can have full confidence in our salvation because it does not depend upon what we do but rather upon what Christ has done for us.
Lord God, forgive me when I complain to you that I have not received from your hand temporal rewards. You have promised something far greater than anything else. You have promised your very self. How awesome! Eternity will not be long enough to express gratitude sufficient for this great gift. In Jesus’ name, Amen.