Lent

March 7, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.’ But Abram said, ‘O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’ And Abram said, ‘You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.’ But the word of the Lord came to him, ‘This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.’ He brought him outside and said, ‘Look towards 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 15:1-6

Abram had a very close personal relationship with God. He discussed everything with God even the fact that he and his wife were unable to conceive a child. Hannah also had this same type of relationship with God. It does not get more personal than that. I have, I guess, a forever habit of starting my prayers with several titles for God, Dear Heavenly Father, or Creator of All. I sense that God has gotten used to my habit and patiently waits for me to get to the point. God does already know who God is. I now realize that I need to tell myself who I am addressing and to acknowledge my respect for God. Is not that why we seek the most qualified person we know to get advice about something?

Abram trusted God, and we can too.

1 When we walk with the Lord
in the light of his word,
what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will,
he abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey.

Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

2 Not a burden we bear,
not a sorrow we share,
but our toil he doth richly repay;
not a grief or a loss,
not a frown or a cross,
but is blest if we trust and obey.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your trustworthiness in a world that sometimes cannot be trusted. Amen.

*First and second verse with the refrain of Trust and Obey by John H. Sammis, see at https://hymnary.org/text/when_we_walk_with_the_lord

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.