“Then He brought him outside and said, ‘Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’” Genesis 15:5 NKJV
“Sometimes God has to change what you are looking at before He can change what you are expecting.” — Dr. Daniel LeBlanc
Look at the Stars Again
Abraham had a promise from God, but he also had a problem. God had promised him descendants, yet Abraham was getting older and still had no son. Everything he could see seemed to contradict what God had said.
Then God did something interesting. He took Abraham outside.
God said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” Then He said, “So shall your descendants be.” God connected His promise to a picture Abraham could see over and over again.
Imagine what happened after that night. Every time Abraham walked outside and looked into that enormous sky, the stars reminded him of what God had spoken. His circumstances might say, “You still do not have a son,” but the stars were saying, “Remember the promise.”
That is God Imagination.
God was giving Abraham something to see within before the promise appeared in the natural. Genesis 15:6 says, “And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” The picture was not a substitute for faith. The picture helped Abraham focus his faith on what God had spoken.
We need to learn to do the same thing. When God gives you a promise through His Word or speaks something to your heart by the Holy Spirit, do not immediately return to rehearsing everything that says it cannot happen. Spend time meditating on what God has said until His promise becomes greater within you than the problem around you.
First, identify what God has actually said. Faith does not begin with what we want God to say. It begins with His Word and His voice. Ask, “What has God said about this situation?” Then hold on to what He has spoken.
Secondly, give that promise your attention. Abraham had stars. You have Scripture you can read, meditate upon, speak, pray, and keep before your heart. When fear begins painting another picture, deliberately return your attention to what God has said.
Then allow yourself to see the promise within. If God says He is with you, stop imagining yourself facing everything alone. If He says He will give you wisdom, stop repeatedly seeing yourself confused and without direction. If He says He is working in your life, stop allowing one difficult season to convince you that your story is finished.
This is not pretending. It is choosing which picture receives your attention.
There will be times when you have to look at the stars again. Circumstances will speak, fear will speak, and disappointment may speak. When that happens, go back to what God said and let Him refresh the picture within you.
Abraham did not receive the promise the night he looked at the stars. There was still a period of waiting between the picture and its fulfillment. That is often where faith is tested.
Do not throw away the picture simply because you have not seen the fulfillment yet. Keep listening to God, keep believing what He has spoken, and keep your heart anchored in His faithfulness.
Sometimes you just need to walk outside and look at the stars again.
Prayer
Father, help me remember what You have spoken when circumstances seem to say something different. Holy Spirit, bring Your Word and Your voice back to my heart when fear or disappointment tries to change the picture. Teach me to keep my eyes on Your faithfulness while I wait for what You have promised. Amen.
Today’s God Imagination
Write down one thing God has spoken to you through His Word or His voice. Read it again today, picture what agreement with that truth looks like in your life, and let it become bigger in your heart than what you presently see.
