Mark Sorensen He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:5 NRSV)
I love this moment in Genesis. Let’s get context.
In Genesis 15, Abram finds himself wrapped in fear and God consoles him by reminding him that God is his defender and will supply him with a great reward. This is when Abram brings up the obvious. “Lord, God, what can you give me? I have no son.” (Gen. 15:2) There it was. The heart of the “whine”. Then, we come to the familiar place where God shows Abram the stars reminding him that, not only will he be given a son, but his descendants will be too many to count. It’s a beautiful reminder that God provides and defends.
It’s right before God shows the stars, however, that we miss a crucial piece of this story. See it?
“He brought him outside…”
Here’s what we miss. As God spoke to Abram, he was limited by the ceiling over his head. His perspective had limits. He couldn’t see the bigger picture. For that, God said, “Abram, let’s take a walk.”
I love it when a small sentence shared thousands of years ago jumps through centuries to smack us right where we are today. For me? This one hits close to home. Honestly? It’s easy to have a limited perspective. It’s easy to become defined, boxed in and confined by our circumstances and day to day doings. However? God is much bigger than our limitations. He’s much larger than our perspectives. For Abram?
It just took a few steps to get a much bigger picture to a larger story that God was playing in His life.
So what about you? Maybe some steps are required.
