Gen. 15:5 (NKJV)
God called Abraham (I’ll call him AB from hence) out of his country, his kindred, and his father’s house to go to a place that He (God) would show him. AB as of then never knew where this Lord was leading him. Fact is he as a pagan of the land of Ur of the Chaldeans had not been familiar with the Jehovah the True God, Possessor of the heavens and the earth. But it so happens that on this peculiar day he hears the voice of Jehovah and chose to obey that voice asking him to move out, bluntly speaking, into the unknown. What a task that must have been! Everything around him, I imagine, must have thought him crazy. Repressive walls surrounded him; limitations were on every side. Who would believe him?
Now as AB and his family embarked on this lopsided sojourn into the unknown, they pitched tents wherever they would make a stopover, dwelling therein for days, weeks or even months. Now how is that, I mean dwelling in tents? You follow through on the command of a God, hitherto unknown to you; He makes you a promise to make you a great nation and He starts you off with territory called “tent”!!. Fact is AB and his entourage dwelt in tents so long that it almost became the Promised Land to them.
Here comes God’s rude awakening. He…brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” Wow! Now that must have startled Abraham. He must have looked into the sky and wondered “what in the world is He talking about?” Now was God playing pranks on AB? Nopes not at all! He was actually calling AB out from the tent mentality he had developed. He wanted AB to see beyond the walls of the tents.
On the average, every day of our lives is a natural confrontation with some kind of limitation, some kind of wall that we can’t seem to scale over, a task that seems to stretch our abilities to its taut limits. We find ourselves each day walking into the unknown realm of the next minute; we plan, oh yes we do, but that really is the boundary, the next moment lies awkwardly in the nameless.
In the midst of it all our tendency to triumph or be trounced in the ensuing battle of life lies in our ability, or otherwise failure, to look or see beyond the limitation, barrier or wall;…what lies beyond these walls?
God gave Abraham a bigger, greater view “outside” of the “tent” he had dwelt in most of his sojourn.
Let’s consider the following:
God to Abraham:
“… all the land which you see I will give to you and to your posterity forever.” Gen 13:15 (NIV)
Elijah to Elisha:
“… nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.” 2 Kings 2:10 (KJV)
Elisha of Servant:
“And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:17 (NIV)
God to Jeremiah:
“The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?" "I see the branch of an almond tree," I replied.
The LORD said to me, "You have seen correctly…” JER. 1:11 & 12 (NIV)
All of the above is proof of what God will have us do in the midst of the wiles of life. “What do you see?” What you see is what you get! So I’d rather we see beyond! That is what Jesus refers to as “Only Believe” and I may as well add “…looking unto Christ Jesus who is the author and perfecter of our faith.” Yes, look far beyond with the eyes of faith; that is being spiritually minded; that is how we maintain our winning ways as more than conquerors!
Your find here today is like the profound story of a man named Simeon who waited all his life to SEE the salvation of the Lord…the Lord Jesus Christ. That fateful day in the temple as he held God’s salvation in his tired gray hands he could not but look towards the heavens and proclaim…Lord you may now dispatch your servant in peace, for my eyes have beheld your salvation!
You know what friend prepare yourself to experience God’s rest from your strife! Prepare for a leap beyond the walls; the boundaries are unreal and unfounded …for I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 8:38 & 39 (KJV)
