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Chase the vultures away

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There’s an interesting passage in the Old Testament that describes God making a covenant with Abram. You can read the whole thing for yourself in Genesis 15, but the part that stood out to me is found in verse 11:

“Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.” (Genesis‬ ‭15:11‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

It seemed like an odd detail to include. Abram is wondering how he can know for sure that God will do what He promised. God told Abram to put in place what was necessary for them to establish a covenant, and then Abraham chased away some vultures.

Can I remind you of something that we both already know? Vultures will always swoop in, and they will always try to steal your confidence. What we have to do is respond to them the same way Abram did: we’ve got to chase them away.

I don’t know what vultures you’re facing, what’s trying to steal your sacrifice, but you’ve got to chase them away. I can’t chase away your vultures and you can’t chase away mine. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy (see John 10:10) and the longer I live, the more convinced I am that his favorite tool for the job is distraction and busyness. A fast pace. A full plate.

Dallas Willard has impacted a generation with the simple, yet not so simply lived, encouragement to “ruthlessly eliminate hurry” from our lives. For me – and maybe for you – hurry is a vulture.

Today, I am choosing to chase it away.

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January 12, 2021by Paul Jenkins
Written by Paul Jenkins
Paul Jenkins is lead pastor of The Gathering, a community church located in beautiful downtown Albemarle, North Carolina. He's the author of God is My Air Traffic Controller and My Name's Not Lou. Paul is passionate about his wife, his 3 children, running, reading, coaching, leading people who are following Jesus, Swedish Fish and the Carolina Panthers.