Chasing Vultures

I played a lot of sports in my teen years. One of my favorites in high school was Rugby. I played for 3 years and went from not having a clue of what I was doing in the first game to growing a true appreciation for one of the toughest sports out there.  There were fifteen guys on the field for each team divided into forwards and backs.  The backs were the smaller, faster guys who scored most of the points. The backs were the bigger guys, who went in there and dug the ball out and got it to the backs so they could score.  I was a forward. The eight man to be exact.  If you have never watched a Rugby game, let me explain. It's sort of like football but it doesn't stop when someone gets tackled and we didn't wear any padding. There is one particular play called a scrum.  It's an opportunity for both teams to fight for possession of the ball.  You take the eight forwards on each team and they form a triangle. The bases of the triangle collide together and the ball is thrown at their feet.  The two sides push against each other while trying to corral the ball with their feet and push it to the back or "peak" of the triangle. At the peak of that triangle was me, number eight. My job was simple. Stop my team from being pushed backwards and protect the ball when it came out at my feet.  Once the ball came out, I would swing one leg to the side while still holding my team forward and one of my teammates would come in and grab the ball and throw it out to those speedy backs.  Sounds simple enough except there was one guy from the opposing team, called a scrum-half, that was allowed to come around the scrum and try to grab the ball before my teammate could get it.  That's why I had to protect it.

I remember one particular game where we were playing a team that had a really good scrum-half. He was quick, strong and had a reputation for having a short fuse.  My coach pulled me aside before the game, gave me the scouting report and told me this, "protect the ball....and make him mad."  So that's what I did. For the entire first half of the game whenever we would "scrum down" and that ball would come out at my feet I would protect it with everything I had.  That opposing player would come running around the side and try to reach around me but I would swing one leg back as hard as I could and hit him in the knees to stop him and hold him back until my player could pick up the ball.  After about 30 minutes of this, I was getting a knot in the back of my leg. I was getting tired. We were winning though.  Then it happened, he got mad. This scrum-half had been stopped all day and was getting frustrated. After one play where their team had the ball taken away from them, he took a swing at one of our players and was ejected from the game.

I don't tell you this story to relive the glory years of a high school athlete but because I was reading the bible this morning and was reminded of this snapshot in my life. Genesis 15:1-21 is a moment in the life of Abram. That's Abraham before the name change that is coming soon in his story.  He has been given a promise by God. He has been promised that his descendants will inherit this great mass of land and that his heirs will be too numerous to count. The only problem is that he's getting up there in years and he has yet to have a child. We all know Abraham as the "father of faith" talked about for generations but at this point in his journey, Abram was questioning the logic of what God was saying. As I read this passage today a couple of things jumped out at me. 

Abram was following God but still had some questions.  He had left home and journeyed to a land God directed him to but I don't think he was real sure why yet.  I know in my own life, I have felt God lead me in directions I didn't fully understand. I have found myself in a place I know has a purpose but I don't necessarily see the purpose.  To this day, I know God has promised and spoke things into my life that I don't feel like have come to pass yet.  I make an attempt to convince myself that they have so that I can feel fulfilled but eventually I realize that's not the fruition of the promise.  I get impatient at times. I question God at times. I go over the promises in my head to make sure I heard them right. I examine my life to see if I've missed it perhaps. But there it is, a promise that hasn't happened and me left trying to create scenarios in my head of how it could possibly come to pass.  This inevitably leads to frustration and some good old fashioned one on one talks with God. Every time, I walk away assured that the promise is real and God knows what He's doing in spite of my questioning.  This is where I found Abram today. In verse 1 God tells him, "Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great."  Sounds like a good thing right? Who wouldn't want God to tell them that?  Well this is Abram's response in verse 2, "O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don't even have a son?"  Abram's thinking is, what good is this great reward when I have no one to pass it down to?  God, you promised me a son. An heir. Someone to carry on my name and legacy.  Where is this promise?

God reassures Abram by having him walk outside and looking at the stars. He tells him, "Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That's how many descendants you will have."  Then verse nine tells us something important. 

Genesis 15:9 "And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith."

Why is this important? Because even though Abram was questioning God's timing, he was believing God's promise.  See I look at the promises in my life from time to time and question why they haven't come to pass but that doesn't mean I don't think they will.  I question when. I question if I missed the opportunity. I question if I have done something to delay God's provision. But I don't question the promise. I even question if the promise has already happened but not the way I thought it would.  I still believe the promise I received years ago is going to happen. 

God responds to Abram's faith and tells him the promise again but in verse 8 Abram can't help but ask a question I think we can all relate to; "O Sovereign Lord, how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?"  God responds, because He always does.  He tells Abram to gather up some animals. So he does and he presents each one to God, kills them and lays them on the ground.  Then this random verse pops up which is really what sparked my thoughts today.

Genesis 15:11 "Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away."  

Then the story continues.  There doesn't seem to be a significance except for the fact that it's there. It's in the bible.  I have to admit, I got stuck on that verse.  I searched study notes...nothing. I read and re-read the story looking for the tie-in...nothing. I finished the story and God gives Abram an insight into the future of his descendants. The slavery in Egypt. The Exodus and the great return to this land that God was promising. To seal the covenant He was making God waited for the sun to go down and Abram saw a smoking fire pot and flaming torch pass between the carcasses of the animals Abram had presented to God.  This symbolized God's holiness. He was illustrating the point that He is a Holy God and when He makes a promise you can depend on it.  

But what about those vultures?

After my sixth or seventh time reading this today I leaned back and just started praying and thinking. This is what came to me. God has made promises to me. Some of them have been fulfilled and some of them have not. I have faith that those that have not, will. But as I said, I question. Every time I question, God assures me and shows me how it's all tying together. This crazy, nonsensical life I live is actually headed somewhere. There  are sacrifices I've had to make. Things that I've had to lay before the Lord as directed that are to help me get to the promise. And as I thought about these crazy vultures, I realized how many times I've picked things back up that I've laid down.  I thought about all those times I prayed about the promises God had made me and in response to my questioning He impressed upon me to take a new step in my life. It's a preparation process to get me to the promise. Abram didn't become Abraham immediately. He didn't become the "father of many nations" over night. It was a process. God asked Abram to lay down some animals so that He could give him a sign of the promise He had made. Vultures came and tried to steal those animals before God could give the sign.

Epiphany

How many times in my life have I allowed the things God has asked for to be taken from Him? God has asked for time spent with Him and I allow "vultures" to steal it. God has asked for sacrificial giving and I allow "vultures" to steal it. God has asked me to pursue specific things that would push me toward the promise and I allow "vultures" to steal my ambition and determination.  I realize today, I put my body on the line to protect a ball while playing rugby. I stood there and waited for that promised ball to roll out to my feet. I put my body between it and the "vulture" coming in to steal it. I've got two weak knees, a bad shoulder and some memories to show for it.  But what God promises is worth so much more. Why am I not chasing the "vultures" in my life?  God's promises are real, I know that. What God has promised you is real. You know that. Start laying out the sacrifice in front of Him. Start giving Him what He's asking for and don't let anyone or anything take it back. 

Start Chasing Vultures.