“As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him. The LORD said to Abram, ‘Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs, and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years; but I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace, you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.’ When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.’” Genesis 15:12-21

Do I focus on, live into and pass on the promises of God? Or do I get stuck in or fix my eyes and thoughts on the darkness? Do I hear God as He speaks to me or am I terrified by the conditions around me? That deep sleep and terrifying darkness might just be God getting me to a place of stillness, to see if I’ll rest in Him, will I really listen to, respond to and live out the long term promises He has made. As a descendant of Abraham, through faith will I realize the fullness and potential of the relationship God offers through grace? Or will I settle for and be satisfied with only a portion of the promise? Why oh why would I limit myself from that which God desires for me, my family, friends and offspring generations to come?