And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
(Genesis 15:11 NKJV)
When Covid restrictions began, they told us it would be over in a matter of weeks. Weeks turned into months. I watched my full calendar of events vanish. An obstacle stood between me and God’s promise to use me as a speaker.
Genesis chapter fifteen opens as God told Abram not to fear. God hadn’t changed his name to Abraham yet. Abram had just returned from a rescue mission for his nephew, Lot. There’s nothing like warring kings or a pandemic to make you think twice about your mortality.
God promised Abram descendants, several years earlier. but Abram hadn’t fathered any children yet. What if he had died while rescuing Lot? Becoming a father seemed more unlikely than ever.
God visited Abram in his doubt. That encourages me because we wrestle with doubt at times. God took Abram outside and showed him the night sky filled with sparkling lights. He promised Abram descendants more numerous than the stars. God instructed Abram to prepare an altar for the covenant with specific animals. Once Abram prepared the sacrifice, vultures came, hovering over the dead animals.
In the Bible, vultures are unclean animals. One bite off Abram’s sacrifice would defile the entire sacrifice. Abram wanted God’s covenant, and he drove the vultures off the carcasses to keep the altar holy before the Lord.
When the sun went down, a deep sleep overcame Abram as horror and darkness fell upon him. This doesn’t appear encouraging at first, but God made a covenant about Abram’s family line after this.
Vultures can symbolize demonic spirits in Scripture. Abram seemed so close to God’s promise, but the horrific darkness and demons threatened to steal, kill, and destroy.
Friend, you have grasped tight to God’s promises, but sometimes it seems they are about to slip right from our hands. We can take courage from this passage. God is faithful to keep His promises. Abraham and Sarah gave birth to a son, Isaac many years later. In recent months, I have seen God take my ministry detours and use them for good (Rom. 8:28).
While you wait…and wait for your promises, never give up! Real demons threaten our promises and dreams, but they can never do more than God allows. It’s when we grow weary waiting that we need to pray harder and hold on tighter. That’s when we must drive off the demons threatening to destroy our future. That’s when we dress in God’s armor and prepare to do battle. That’s when we give up on a weak prayer life and pray wartime prayers. That’s when we stay in the Word, fast, and meditate while waiting to hear from God.
When we feel like giving up the most, we need to fight the hardest.
You can do this my friend! Now go suit up for war!
Lord God, I know Your Word is true. Keep doubt at a distance from me, and wrap me in Your armor. Fight my battle Lord. In Jesus’s name Amen.
DIG DEEPER
HIKING THE TRAIL
If you are in a battle today, make sure you spend more time with God. We often neglect our greatest help.
RELATED RESOURCE
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Originally posted on November 8, 2021 @ 3:00 am
I had totally forgotten the part about the vultures in that story. What a great visual of our enemy. Satan seeks out dead dreams to feed upon just as the vultures seek out dead animals to feed upon. I got to thinking about why our enemy would seek out a dead dream to feast upon and it is because if we had a dream, let it die that symbolizes lost hope. Satan can use that to fuel our doubts on everything w ever hoped for, weather it was from ourselves (flesh) or from God. Any dead dream is great food for our enemy to feed upon to use against us to trick us into allowing all of our hopes and dreams to perish as well.
Good word sister