How Am I to Know?

A Reflection on the First Reading for March 16th, 2025:
Second Sunday of Lent

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Genesis 1
5.5-12, 17-18

​The Lord said to Abram: “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Then the Lord said to Abram, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”

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.” Abram brought the Lord all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him. When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.

On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

I want to believe You, Lord, but I need proof. So says Abram, and I commiserate with his plea. Comforted by our shared humanity, and this unusual gift God has given me in the opportunity to re-reflect on this strange passage of scripture (I also wrote on this in 2022: The Beauty in Belief), I enjoin myself to Abram’s experience: How am I to know, Lord, that You will go good on Your promises?
 
Take a look at the stars. I have created all these you see, and many more unseen. I have created you.
 
I see it, Lord. You are wondrous and beautiful. Your grace is boundless, but how am I to know You meant for me to be here?
 
I have changed your heart and your life. I lifted you out of darkness and showed you great mercy. I healed your deepest wounds.
 
Praise You, Father, for all You have done for me. I’m so grateful for this life you have given me. You have done so much, but how am I to know You would do more still?
 
I have given you a family in faith — mothers to nurture you, sisters to walk with you, fathers to guide you, brothers to protect you.
 
It is true, Father, that You have given me everything I have ever lacked — in my relationship with You, and in my relationships with others who love You, but how am I to know what You want me to do in and through these relationships?
 
I will give you my fire as a covenant. Baptized in this fire, I will connect you to others who also carry this flame. Fire seeks fire, and you will know by the fire burning in their hearts that you were meant to journey with them. My purpose will be revealed in your connection.
 
Abram sought the Lord fervently, with questions and silence, in trust and obedience. He had the courage to ask the Lord for clarification, expecting a response, and a response was given. We could interpret his questions as doubt, but I don’t believe doubt was his motive. I believe he loved God so much that he didn’t want to miss the signs as they were set before him.
 
As I began writing this reflection, the dialogue that arose from my heart was initially one of scrutiny: will God actually offer such clarity if I ask of Him what Abram asked? And truly, my friends, the very next day, He answered my questions with His Fire. In conversations with my sisters, He revealed the trail, ablaze with the Holy Spirit, that He has placed me on, uncovered me through, and fulfilled promises by. And fire was the central theme of the entire revelation of purpose. His assignment of this scripture passage (for a second time) was not an accident, but an opportunity for me to truly hear Him say:
 
Wherever you find yourself, I will meet you there. “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).


Lori MacDonald​

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