Category: Practical Apps

Look Down

~ Sowmya Gali

Genesis 13: 16 – 18

I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you. So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the Lord.

Imagine picking a fistful of dust, placing under a microscope and counting each particle. How ridiculous that would be! Yet, the Lord is promising Abram that if anyone could count the dust, that many his offspring would be – innumerable. Abram and his nephew have parted ways. Now Abram was on his own. The last connection with his family was also severed. If Lot had remained with Abram, he probably would have inherited his wealth and also the blessings that God has promised. However, God promised that out of his own body he would have an offspring. Abram would have been satisfied if his wealth and all God’s promises would have gone to Lot. After all, Lot was his own nephew. Therefore, God removed that final crutch as well before He could start fulfilling His promises to Abram.

God then asked Abram to look down – the dust he was standing on. His feet would have made an imprint as he lifted his foot to look down on the dust. He might have picked up a fistful and let the grains of sand run through his fingers. His dusty hands might have cupped his eyes as he tried to search the horizon in the direction his beloved nephew has gone. He then must have understood what God was saying. With the last thread severed, Abram’s only hope to have an offspring remained with God. The Lord was urging Abram to trust Him. With every step that Abram took, he felt assured that God was indeed going to bless him. With every crunch of his step, he was certain that God is going to bless him with offspring as numerous as the dust under his feet. He was certain of the firm ground beneath him.

The Lord is our firm foundation. With our feet firmly fixed on this Rock, we could go to places unknown, trusting that God will bless us. When God is our Rock, nothing can shake us. If our faith knows its firm foundation, then every crunch of our step would lead to God’s blessing. It is time for us to look down and ensure we are standing on dust that is as innumerable as God’s blessings. When we are certain of what is beneath us, it is easy to pitch our tents. Walking in blessing, every step gives us more confidence as we journey through this life. All we can do is build an altar like Abram and worship our Lord who blesses us. It is time for us to look down deep within our souls to check on how firm our foundation is and walk with confidence towards God’s innumerable blessings that are too many to count.

Look Around

~ Sowmya Gali

Genesis 13: 14, 15

The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.

When God called Abram from the land of Ur, he left everything and followed God into the unknown. However, he left the place with his father and nephew Lot. His father died shortly but Lot was still hanging around with Abram. The Lord blessed Lot as well because of Abram. Now the time has dawned for Abram to be separated from one last link to his past – Lot. When strife broke among the herdsmen of Lot and Abram, Abram, being a wise man requested that they shouldn’t fight as they are family. Abram besought his nephew to choose the land that he prefers so he could go the other way. Lot, drawn by the lush, fertile valley of Jordan, chose to settle near Sodom. And thus, uncle and nephew parted ways amicably.

As Abram’s eyes searched the fading caravan of his nephew Lot with a broken heart, the Lord nudged Abram to look north and south, east and west. As Abram scanned the landscape not knowing what the Lord was hinting at, Lord promised Abram that He will give all the land in all four directions to his offspring. Abram looked around and probably wondered if he would actually have an offspring who would inherit all this land that the Lord God was promising him.

God is asking us to do the same. God is nudging us to look around us. He is showing us opportunities where we could grow, be a blessing, and bring glory to His name. However, we seem to look at ourselves, our shortcomings and our infirmities. Unlike Abraham, we trust our weaknesses rather than trust in God’s strength. We are limiting ourselves. We are still clinging to our past. We believe in luck rather than God’s supernatural favor. When God is imploring us to look beyond ourselves and our circumstances, we are wallowing in our own pride and accomplishments. Thereby, we are missing out on God’s best for our lives. We fail to grasp that we have a God who is bigger than anything we can imagine. It is time, dear sojourners, to rise up and step out in faith. Not limiting ourselves but trusting Him to lead on, we are more than conquerors in Christ. May God lead you on to places beyond your reach where your tents are pitched in pleasant places.