By Richard Curtis
“Do not be afraid, Abram,
I am your shield,
your very great reward.”
Genesis 15:1b NIV
God’s desire for Abram (later to be called Abraham) is a model of God’s original intention of how our lives would be. First, we are not to be afraid. God’s wish for us is to know peace. Not a peace that can be found in the world however. Even Abram had just returned from battle when God spoke this. It is a peace that can only come from God, in confidence that he loves and cares for us.
Second, God is our shield. In Abram’s time, a shield could be used to defend, and it could also be used to lead a charge. God wants us to sense his protection, whether it is defending us or leading us through the battles of life we face.
Third, God is our great reward. He is our provision, now and forever.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus refers to these same three assurances of peace, protection, and provision that God gave Abram:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27
“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” John 17:15
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35
Do you know God’s PEACE?
Do you sense God’s PROTECTION?
Do you trust God’s PROVISION?
“Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:6
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
Believe as Abraham did!
