In our lives, our minds are full of questions. During the time when my dad, the late Reverend Ed Neal, was going through his battle with Merkel Cell Carcinoma, I asked many questions. What treatments were available? Why weren’t they working? Who else could we talk to? 

Others we knew had gotten different answers in their health battles, and it seemed like our answers were progression of the disease and symptoms, test results that weren’t promising, and on and on. God told our whole family he was working, but sometimes I couldn’t see the forest for the trees. 

In this passage, God promises Abram many descendants, lofty possessions and tons of land. He tells Abram he will bless him. He tells Abram to go around and look at all the land he is being given. Abram still had a hard time believing God, even asking God how he is to know for sure the land will be his. God then takes him through a symbolic ritual that is hard to understand, but is all part of God’s master plan. Abram makes some mistakes that result in consequences that last for generations. 

Back to my earlier story. God was preparing me for the legacy that my dad would leave behind when he passed away in November 2021. His ministry changed the last three months after he fell and could not get out of bed. Several times he asked me how his ministry was supposed to continue (and I know he prayed these same things to God). He had to call people and minister to them from his bed. God had me remind my dad several times that his ministry was not done, just because he couldn’t leave his house. It was actually preparing me because I sensed a peace, throughout those last months, that I know was only from God. It filled me with a sense of peace, which is what I prayed for all along, and has helped me and my family get through this dark and trying time. 

“His strength is perfect when our strength is gone. He’ll carry us when we can’t carry on. Raise in his power, the weak become strong. His strength is perfect” - Written by Steven Curtis Chapman

Dr. Glen E. Neal

Extended Scripture: Genesis 15–16