Royalty and Rewards

"After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

'Do not be afraid, Abram. 

I am your shield,

your very great reward.'"

Genesis 15:1

In Genesis 15, God gave Abram (later called Abraham) a vision and said, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." Of all the verses and fascinating story tidbits I picked up in my reading of Genesis, this verse struck me. First, I establish that by accepting Jesus Christ, I too am one of his "people," making me an heir to Abraham (and more importantly Christ). After that, I can assume that this statement applies to my life.
And then I ask, "Do I live as if God is my shield and my reward?"
First, if God himself is my shield, what is there to be afraid of? Most days, I live life with the motivation to produce, please, and perform. As a result, I often finish tasks throughout the day with a measure of how man would evaluate and with that comes a fear of rejection. When I live with this underlying (and unspoken) principal, I often face larger situations in a spirit of intimidation.
God spoke to Abram that He is indeed our shield. God is King of kings, ruler of all and he is looking out for me! With that power not only can I get my job done well, but live with power knowing that in the end any rejection from man matters nothing when compared to the greatness of victory as an heir of Christ. This shield offered to me puts perspective into my day. I don't have to second-guess my parenting skills when I converse with other parents who seemingly have it all together. Worry shouldn't be my first instinctual feeling at work when I feel outperformed. When I hear about the ministry of another woman and feel ineffective, I cannot dwell in that pit. I am royalty! I have the power of God himself defending me, fighting for me!
Secondly, and more impactful to me, is this idea that God is my reward. As a Bible believing person I should think this an old truth. However, in my day-to-day life, I live far off the mark of this soul reward. So often, I finish a task and  think of the praises I will receive from my boss, my friends, my kids, or my husband. When I look for a reward within that audience, that's it...my weak reward.
When I can scoot back and realize that God's goodness is my reward it does a couple of things. I think it puts into better perspective how beautiful God is in all his attributes. It also helps me to realize that He alone is my audience....or the only one that counts in the end. Sure, it feels great to receive the praises of man, but how much more so from Creator God, King of Kings?
So, my goal today....well even if I can keep it up this morning...is to live as if God is King over me and exists as the greatest reward in my life. Keeping my defender out front and my eye on the prize today, it's gonna be good!