The LORD told him, “Bring me a three year old heifer, a three year old female goat, a three year old ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon.” So Abram presented all these to Him and killed them. Then he cut each animal down the middle and laid the halves side by side; he did not, however, cut the birds in half. Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away. Genesis 15:9-11 (NLT)

In this story, Abram has asked God, ‘How do I know you will do what you have said you will do?’ So God proceeds to make a covenant, or a promise, with him. In these verses, God is very specific in what he tells Abram to do and Abram, in faith, is obedient. He brings to God the exact animals that was requested and sacrifices them. After this act of obedience, the vultures begin to circle. They swoop down in an attempt to interfere with the sacrifice. As I read this, I thought, this kind of thing happens in our lives as well. When we step out in faith and obey God, a lot of the time Satan will send a “vulture” to try and disrupt that obedience. He wants to cause us fear and doubt. He wants us to question our God. He wants to make us think that we have messed up.

Maybe God has told you to walk away from a person, place or thing because He knows it’s not what is best for you. As you turn to walk away, you hear that voice, “You can’t do without this, you need this, you will miss it”, ….vulture. Maybe God has told you to give more at church and as you write the check to put in the offering plate, that voice of fear says, “What if something happens? You’re gonna need that money. He won’t provide for you.”…vulture. Maybe you want a change so badly in your life, you just know it’s time to take that new job, to plunge into that new relationship but God says, “Wait, it’s just not time yet.” And as you prepare to enter into that season of waiting, that voice of doubt says, “You need this, you deserve this. You’re gonna regret not taking this opportunity.”…vulture.

You see, the last place Satan wants us to be is in will of God. The very last thing he wants us to do is obey God. He will use every weapon at his disposal to discourage and cause us to doubt what we’ve just done in obedience to God’s voice. When this happens, we have to do like Abraham did, chase them away. We do that by trusting God. Remember He is who He says He is and He will do what He promises. When Satan gets in your head with those voices, pull out the Word of God, that is where you will find Truth, call on the Name of Jesus because there is absolute power in His Name. God will not tell you to do something unless it is for your good and His glory. He will not lead you astray.

Our obedience, no matter how small it may seem to us, is always a sweet smelling aroma to our God. It makes the heart of God smile when we trust and obey. Not only that but God promises we will be rewarded for our obedience. “Your reward (for obedience) shall be very great.” (Genesis 15:1, Amplified) Another translation says “I will be your great reward.” The path of obedience may not be easy and we may not see the results that we want to see as quickly as we’d like but stand firm, have faith, be obedient and God promises that we will not be disappointed, our reward will be great.