“Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.”   Genesis 15:10-11

In this passage, God is making a covenant with Abram. God has promised to make Abram a great nation by giving him a son. God has instructed Abram to bring Him specific animals-a heifer, goat, and ram, along with a dove and a young pigeon.

Abram obeys the Lord. He follows his directions. And then there’s verse 11, “Then the birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.” That verse seemed a little odd to me. Why was that detail important? How does that detail connect to the main idea? I know every detail in God’s Word is important. There Abram was, trying to do what the Lord had asked him to do and then out of nowhere, birds of prey came down on the animal carcasses.

As I thought more about that verse, it occurred to me that that is exactly what happens whenever God calls us to do something. We set out to do what the Lord has asked us to do. We are obeying God. We are working on all the details. Then BAM!!! Birds of prey enter from stage left!

The enemy comes in and tries to attack or tear down what God is doing.

A few years ago, I felt led to teach a marriage class at church. I was so excited. A few sweet ladies signed up. I got all my materials together. And the class started. Things seemed to be rocking along pretty good at first, and then it all hit the fan at home. Skip and I started bickering and arguing about everything. I was trying to teach women to honor and respect their husbands and I wasn’t getting along with my own. I thought we had a pretty rock solid marriage, and now we couldn’t even agree on toothpaste! It was crazy! Then it dawned on me—the enemy trying to attack the very thing I was trying to teach.

Birds of prey!

So let’s look at how Abram handled this interruption. The verse says that he “drove them away.”

Abram didn’t stop what he was doing. He didn’t give up. He didn’t let birds of prey hinder what God had called him to do.

And neither should we.

James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

What a great reminder! If you are doing what God has called you to do, don’t give up when the birds of prey show up on the scene. Instead, expect them. Be alert! Keep a sober mind! Watch for those birds of prey! They will surely come. And when they do, be like Abram and drive them away. Then get back to doing what God has called you to do!