True Faith in God’s Promise — Genesis 15 Daily Word

Explore what it truly means to believe in God’s promise through Abram’s faith journey in Genesis 15. Discover how asking God for signs strengthens conviction and deepens your relationship with the Lord.

Genesis 15:7-11 Daily Word

1. [Scripture]

[7] And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” [8] But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” [9] He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” [10] And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. [11] And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. (Gen 15:7-11, ESV)

2. [Daily Word]

# What does it mean to believe in God?

Before God, this means ① my name dies and I live by the name of Jesus, and ② I die and God lives within me. This is the faith grounded in conviction that we must hold, and it is Abram who teaches us this conviction-based faith today. In the same sense, God answers this faith in verse 7: “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” This word is God’s promise that He would give him a child and that Canaan would become the land where his descendants would dwell.

# Abram asks God for a sign.

In verse 8, Abram asks, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” This may appear at first glance as though Abram is doubting God. However, this is not a moment of doubt — rather, as one who already believes God’s promise, Abram is asking again in order to make his faith all the more certain.

[7] “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (Matt 7:7, ESV) God granted the assurance to believe that everyone who asks receives [24] Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:24, ESV). Therefore, let us believe that when we come before the Lord — not merely satisfied with one answer, but asking again and again — He gives us an even clearer response, and through it, enables us to live in full assurance.

# God grants Abram a sure sign of the promise.

In verse 9, the LORD said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Then in verse 10, Abram brought all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. This scene reflects the manner in which covenants were made in the ancient world. To establish a covenant, both parties would divide a sacrificial animal into two halves and then pass between the two pieces.

This signifies that if either party who made the promise breaks the covenant, they will face death — just like the sacrificial animals that were cut in two. The scriptural basis for this is found in [18] And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts—[19] the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf. [20] And I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives. Their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. (Jer 34:18-20, ESV). The reason God granted this sign of the covenant was to help Abram understand the preciousness of the covenant that God was giving him.

# God gives us His promise first.

That promise is like the word God gave Abram in 12:2 — “you will be a blessing.” God has clearly made us blessed and, through faith in Jesus, has enabled us to live a blessed life. However, we must remember that at times we fail to do what we ought to do before the Lord for His purposes, and instead simply demand material blessings from God for our own benefit and satisfaction. The lesson we learn today through the covenant God shares with Abram is that God is a God of order — He gives a promise, and He most certainly keeps it.

In that sense, God is always ready to answer those who seek Him, and He desires that we too have a sign of our commitment to keep His Word. We must remember that this is precisely the kind of confident faith that Abram possessed. When we hold fast to that confident faith, believing that everything we ask has already been granted, may we walk in complete faith and experience victory in this day as well.

Genesis 15, Faith of Abram, Covenant of God, Confident Faith, Spiritual Death

Originally published in Korean at bible2u.com