Genesis 15:1

I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.

These are the words that God speaks to Abram (not yet Abraham) in between two pretty important events in Abram's life. He has just returned from a battle in which they destroyed their enemies, and God is about to make his promise of a son to Abram. God appears to Abram in a vision and tells him not to be afraid, because He is his shield, and Abram will have a great reward.

Thoughts for the day...
Why would God need to comfort Abram and tell him not to be afraid? What is Abram afraid of? My first thought was that he's afraid of retribution by the kings of his enemies, even though he didn't take anything from them (14:22-24). No one likes to lose, and there might be another battle in the future that he's worried about. I think God's also telling Abram not to be afraid of what will happen to the reward God is promising him. Abram doesn't have any children, so his reward will go to his chief servant. But God tells him not to worry about that, that he will have a son.

I think this is another place where God is screaming to me, "Hey, listen to me! Do what I say, and it's all going to be okay!" I don't need to worry about anything. As Matthew writes a couple thousand years later, I can't worry about what will happen tomorrow, because today has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34). God cares more about His sons and daughters than anything in creation. He will always do what's best for us, will never give us more than we can handle, and in today's verse, He reminds me that if I am ever feeling too weak to take on something, He will be my strength; He will be my shield; He'll be there for me always.

I think about all the rewards I've already been blessed with--my beautiful wife and son, my loving family, a home, a job, the best dog in the world--I don't even deserve all of that, but He wants to give me more! But more than the rewards here on earth, I've been given the best reward of all for putting my trust in His Son: I get to spend eternity in His presence.


My Prayer
Thank You, God, for being my shield and my strength in my times of weakness. Thank you for all of the blessings you've given me. Thank you for my earthly rewards: my wife, my son, my family, my home--all of it! I know that I'm undeserving of further rewards, but I also know that You love to shower Your children with good things, and I'm grateful for Your continued blessings. But thank You most of all, Father, for rewarding my faith in You with the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Thank you for being a God of love, and for sharing that love with me.