(Gen 15:5,6 NLT) Then the LORD took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith.
This morning we continue our mini-series on “Purpose and Vision” by taking a brief look at the life of Abraham. The Lord approached a 75yr. old man, with a 65yr. old wife, who had never had children, in order to birth a nation of His people in the earth. In Genesis 12 the Lord gives Abram (later known as Abraham) a promise to bless him so that he could BE a blessing to the entire earth. This blessing was contingent upon Abram having the faith to pick up his family and leave all that he knew, for a place this unseen God was going to show him. Amazingly Abram had the faith to do it and so he is called the “Father of faith.” In Genesis 13 the Lord brings Abram to a certain place and says, “Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west. I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession.” The Lord was promising to give Abram all the he could see, not just with his physical eyes, but with his heart. Remember, sight is a function of the eyes, but vision is a function of the heart. But that’s not all, the promise involved descendants, not just land. The descendants portion of the promise is what I believe drew this barren family out of their comfort zone. They desperately wanted to leave a legacy. So the Lord continued and said, “And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted! Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you” (see Genesis 13:14-18). Did you catch that? The Lord likened the number of Abram’s descendants to the amount of dust in the earth. Surely, the dust can’t be counted, and the Lord was attempted to get Abram to see (on the inside) himself as a father of an innumerable lineage.
Two chapters later Abram had been through a great deal already. In the short time he was following Jehovah he was already blessed and he was rich with earthly possessions. But what good would earthly possessions be without having someone to leave your inheritance to? Abram complained to God about not having any kids to leave his inheritance to and this was the Lord’s response: “Then the LORD took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” What was the Lord doing again? Once again, the Lord was attempting to get Abram to SEE himself as a father of an innumerable lineage. During the day Abram could look down to see the dust and during the night he could look up to see the stars; both were to serve as reminders of God’s promise in order to stretch his faith. After this the Bible records, “Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith” (Genesis 15:5,6).
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
1. God’s plans for your life are too big for you to accomplish without Him.
2. You limit God if you have a limited capacity to believe. All things are possible for him who believes (Mark 9:23), but whatever you don’t believe becomes impossible for you.
3. The Father will work with you to get you to expand your capacity to believe.
4. You must SEE it, in the spirit, before you will BE it, in the natural.
5. Once you are able to SEE God doing “it” (whatever “it” is) in and through your life, then, and only then, does “it” become possible for you.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for blessing me to be able to see—on the inside, with spiritual eyes—all that You desire to accomplish in, with, and through me. I declare, by faith, that I am anointed to see my future well before it happens. You bless me to visit my future, in my heart and mind, and I am able to literally walk around in it, enjoying all that You desire for me to be. I then come back from those experiences emboldened with passion and focus, with the clarity to make the plans that will take me to the future You have shown me. My purpose in life gives birth to divine vision, my vision helps inform my plans, my plans help drive my discipline, and my discipline helps take me to the future You desire for me to enjoy. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
