God thinks and plans generationally. Let’s look at what this means in this excerpt by David Green, CEO of Hobby Lobby, from our upcoming book, “A Legacy Life Devotional.”

God Thinks and Plans Generationally

“Then the Lord said to him, ‘Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.’” Genesis 15:13–14

At Hobby Lobby, we’ve always tried to keep things pretty simple. I know that there are companies and organizations that do lots of forecasts, market studies, market trends, and lots of strategic planning. I applaud them for that, and there are times when I might wish for more of that. But for us, we’ve tried to do two primary things: to add stores in great locations, and to make our stores better for each and every customer.

That’s it.

Think about Abraham. He’s really a lot like me and you. He was a pretty normal guy. He lived in Haran. He had a mom and dad. We don’t really know much about them. He had aunts and uncles. There were probably lots of kids and cousins running around. Abraham got married, which was a big deal, to a girl named Sarah. Like most people, he fixated on having a kid, a son in particular.

Then things got interesting. God asked him to move to a distant land, and He said He’d give him that land. But not immediately. In fact, all Abraham would get to do was to be a tourist in the land.

Perhaps to demonstrate that God was serious about His promise, He made a covenant—a contract—with Abraham. He told him that the land was Abraham’s, but then He laid out His strategic plan. Abraham’s descendants would spend four hundred years in a foreign land. In slavery. Mistreated. After four hundred years, God would punish the nation that enslaved them, and Abraham’s people would be freed with great possessions.

Can you imagine a four-hundred-year strategic plan for your life?

Here’s what’s crazy about that plan. God told Abraham that he was going to die in peace and see his ancestors. In other words, Abraham wasn’t going to see any of it. God’s plan, His four-hundred-year plan, was only beginning to unfold with the life of Abraham.

God put an incredible legacy in motion with the life of Abraham. I’m not sure about you, but I love that. I’m also challenged to think differently.

Our God is a generational planner. Somehow, it takes pressure off the present moment. My immediate challenge is to be faithful in the present moment and allow Him to work His generational plan.

O Lord, You call the generations, and I acknowledge that You have a generational plan for my life. I realize that I may not see the plan’s fulfillment, but I trust in Your good plan.

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If you enjoyed this excerpt, keep reading about how you can help launch “The Legacy Life” this fall.

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Bill High

Bill is CEO & Founder of Vyne Legacy. He works with families to equip them with tools to build multigenerational legacies, and he teaches givers and financial advisers on transformational biblical generosity. He is the co-author with David Green of Giving It All Away and Getting It All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously.

Published September 24, 2025

Topics: Family Legacy