The Real Reward

Genesis 13:5-15:21 Matthew 5:27-48 Psalm 6 Proverbs 1:29-33

“’Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward’…Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:1,6 TNIV).

When we first hear about God, we may believe He is real and even that His way is the right way. But that is not enough. Satan knows God is real, but does not believe, love and trust God. Many of us have struggled with believing God. We’re afraid to give up what is being offered to us right here, right now for something that God, whom we have never seen, is promising, which we have also not seen. We have to decide whether to take that chance and trust Him.

Abram took that chance. He passed up on the reward the King of Sodom offered him. Then he took his concerns to God. He believed God. Not just that He was real, but that He would do what He promised. God called this righteousness. Abram still has his struggles as he grows in this relationship with God, trying to trust Him in spite of what he sees and feels. And that is good news for those of us who are in the same boat as Abram.

Father God, we want to believe, love and trust You. We want You to be our shield and reward today. Help us to pass by the temporary rewards and riches this world offers and look for what You have to offer. Holy Spirit, encourage  us when we are struggling to believe and are tempted to look somewhere else for help. Amen.