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When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.  I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:1-8).

One day, God showed up when Abram was old in age, and re-established his covenant with Abram. During this time, God revealed His name to Abram: I AM, which means more than enough to fulfill the promise—and He gave Abram a new name: Abraham, the name that carried the fulfillment of the promise. To inherit the promise, Abraham needed to have two dynamic changes take place. One was a change in the way he viewed God. He needed to see God as all powerful, able to carry out His promises. Secondly, he needed a changed view of self. He needed to see himself the way God saw him so he could fulfill his part of the covenant. This is a simple and profound truth: we must see God and ourselves in His light so we can live out the destiny He has for us.