Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

As we continue to look at Abram in Genesis, God is continually reassuring Abram that what he says is true.

God made a promise, and he keeps his promises.

Remember in Genesis Chapter 12 Abram journeyed with Sarai to Egypt because of a famine. God had already told Abram He would establish him and his descendants, but Abram being human tried to take matters into his own hands. He lied to Pharaoh and dishonored himself and his family because he did not trust God.

Then we see in Chapter 15 Abram returns to old behavior. He tells God you have not provided a seed so I must adopt one of the children born in my household.

God once again reminds Abram that He has a plan, “Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” (Genesis 15:4-5)

The word says,” then Abram believed” God. To reassure Abram, God used the sacrificial ritual of animal sacrifice. Abram understood with an animal sacrifice the promise was genuine. Interestingly, God was the only one that had any requirement in the agreement. God did it all for Abram. All Abram had to do was to trust that God would do what he said he would do.

As a Christ follower many times we can get off track. We read our Bible, pray, spend time worshipping God and see God working around us, but like Abram we can become impatient and begin to take our lives into our own hands. We make plans and decisions that God was not included in and eventually wonder how in the world we got into such a mess.

It is easy to get off course, because we are human – just like Abram. At times we can be confused and afraid. However, once Abram believed he knew what he needed to do.

Look at the sacrifice, “Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.” (Genesis 15:10, 11)

As a Christ follower we can drive away those things which try to interfere in our relationship with God. Like Abram, we can just begin to believe and trust God. God has already made the sacrifice- just believe.

Yvette Perrin is a columnist for The Charlotte Gazette. She can be reached at theword2yvette@gmail.com.