Today’s Scripture: Genesis 15:1-6
Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”
2 But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. 3 You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”
4 Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” 5 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!”
6 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.
Today’s Devotional
The other day I found myself complaining to God. I know, doesn’t sound very pastoral does it? And yet, there I was, complaining about something going on in my life and about how God had not yet fixed it. To be honest, I was kinda like Abram here in our text – “what good are all your blessings??”
Now, as humans, when we hear someone complain about us we tend to get defensive and maybe a little angry and possibly a little passive-aggressive. Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything. The problem is we tend to take humans characteristics and put them onto God. So, when I complain to God there is a part of me that worries God is going to say “You know what, forget it. I’m done with you. I tried to be nice but all you do is complain.” But that’s how humans react. Not God.
Notice that God just restates the promise one more time. This seems to calm Abram down. In fact, it gives him enough faith to believe in the promise – at least in that moment. And God, instead of chastising him for his complaints – counts him as righteous because of his faith.
I guess complaining and faith can go together.
If you feel like you need to complain to God today – go right ahead. But then listen. You might hear a promise. And if you do – just believe.
Today’s Prayer
God forgive us for all the times we complain – but thank you that you do not count it against us. Thank you that a little faith can go a long way. Help us to always come back to you and listen for the promise – no matter how much complaining we do. Amen.
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