Tests of Faith - Pt 5

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, 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, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:1-6 ESV). In this next test, Abraham was called to trust God’s promise that he would have a son. Years ago Dr. Seuss published a children's book entitled "Horton Hears A Who". This book is about an elephant named Horton who hears voices coming from a little speck of dust. The story relates how Horton placed the speck of dust on a clover bloom and did his best to protect the tiny residents inside that speck of dust from the other animals who could not hear the voices rising from the dust particle. As the story develops, Horton learns that the race living inside that speck of dust were the "Who's". They lived in a town called Whoville and needed a protector to prevent them from being blow about by the wind, or destroyed by other means. Of course, the other animals in the jungle do not believe Horton and give him a hard time about his belief that a tiny race inhabits a particle of dust. They try to destroy the speck of dust and they even try to tie Horton up. Eventually, all the "Who's" in "Whoville" join their voices and shout in unison so that they might be heard by the animals who have torment Horton about his strange beliefs. They are finally heard when the tiniest "Who" of them all, a tiny, yo-yo throwing tike by the name of "Jo Jo" lifts his voice and says "Yupp". To make a long story short, there are two great moral lessons taught in "Horton Hears A Who." The first is that we should be kind to all people, even when others refuse to be. The second is that even the smallest of the small is an important person. You may wonder what this has to do with our text. The answer lies in the fact that Horton heard a voice one day that forever changed his life. In our text today, Abraham hears a voice that forever changed his life. In Abram's day, he was just one insignificant person among millions of other people, but God had a special plan for his life. To God, Abram was of supreme importance. In this passage, Abram receives a word from the Lord concerning three essentials in all of lives. He heard God assure him about his fears, his future, and his faith. I wish we had space to explore all of those, but that’s a sermon in the making! We can say conclusively that what he heard changed his life forever. Let me single just one of these out for a thought today. The assurance God gave him changed his fears. We cannot see what God sees; and, therefore, cannot know what lies in the darkness of our future. The real test is in trusting that God does see into that darkness and has promised good to us. Abraham believed! What will you do? I choose to believe!