1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
Genesis 15:1
Another way the spirit of fear operates, to prevent you from offering sacrifices to God, is that it attacks your mind after you have just given up something valuable to someone or to God. At this point, fear tells you that you have just made a huge mistake and you spiral downwards into a whirlpool of regret, thus making it difficult for you to sacrifice again.
God said to Abraham (then Abram): “Fear not.” He spoke these words to him just after he paid his tithe to Melchizedek. Before that, Abraham had just given up all the spoils of war: a lot of abundance (Genesis 14:16-24). God was saying to Abraham: “Don’t let the spirit of fear make you afraid and get you thinking that you have done the wrong thing.” After Abraham paid his tithes and gave his offerings, God said to him, “I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
When you read, “I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward,” you don’t get the full meaning of those words. “Exceedingly” means speedily or diligently. “Great” means something quantitatively large, something abundant. “Reward” means salary, wages, and payment of contract or compensation. Can you now see the picture of an exceedingly great reward? What a strong reassurance to counter the temptation of fear.
Maybe you were tempted to withhold your tithe but you obeyed God and gave it. Maybe you just gave the only television you had. Maybe you just gave your best suit into the life of some- body. Maybe you gave away the only car you had into the life of your pastor. God is saying to you: “Fear not, I am your speedily multiplying abundant reward. I am your speedily multiplying compensation. I am your diligently increasing payment of contract. You have kept your part of the contract; I am going to keep My part of the contract.”
When you have done what you are expected to do, God will never disappoint you.
Confession:
God is my exceedingly great reward. With this revelation, I steadfastly resist the spirit of fear that tries to tell me that my precious sacrifice to God is a mistake. I know that God is my speedily multiplying abundant reward. He will speedily hasten my abundant reward to me because He is faithful and keeps His Word.
