Fear Not, Abraham I am Your Shield

“The Lord came unto Abraham in a vision, saying: Fear not, Abraham: I am thy Shield, and thy exceeding great reward”. (Gen 15:1).

In Genesis 15 we have the fifth appearance of our Lord to Abraham when the Lord appeared to Abraham in order to test his faith. In “the whole armor of God” we are given a shield of faith ( Eph 6:16); for it is only by a strong living faith that we can defeat the enemy. In Mark 11:11 the Lord Himself calls it the faith of God, as we can see in the margin. In Galatians 2:20 it is described as the faith of the Son of God. It is only as we are indwelt by God Himself that we can have strong faith.

God said to Abraham in this vision in Genesis 15; ‘Abraham, believe Me, and My Word’. God said further: “I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward”. In Psalm 84:11 God is described as a “Sun and Shield”. The reward depends on faith. Without real active faith, we cannot receive a reward. The Lord uses suffering and trials to give us faith (I Peter 1:7). God had spoken so clearly to Abraham, yet he was childless he went about to make his will leaving his property to his chief steward.

God appeared to him to save him from making a mistake. Because of our limitations, we often have many doubts. Sometimes we may have strong faith but doubts return to trouble us, and God in His love and mercy intervenes again and again.

___ By Vivek Anand