Yesterday, on our last day of fasting and praying for the New Year, Rosheeda told us to REMEMBER. Do you know that if Abraham had remembered what God had told him (or maybe just connected the dots), he might have avoided two pickles he got himself into?
In Genesis 12, God promises a nation to Abram. God even shows Abram the land of Canaan and says He'll give it to Abram's offspring. So what happens next? They wind up in Egypt because of a famine, and Abram is convinced he will be killed for his wife.
What happened to God's promise to make Abram into a great nation directly from his offspring? From observing God's character, we know it didn't go away. Did Abram forget? Did he doubt God's faithfulness? How could God make a nation from Abram's offspring if the man didn't live long enough to have any children?
Now look at Genesis 15, God tells Abraham this:
"Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." (Love this…God's saying, "I will protect you.")
Abram then proceeds to remind God that he's childless. God reassures him that a son from his very own body will be his heir and that his offspring shall be as numerous as the stars. God already told Abram in Genesis 12 that He would make a great nation out of Abram.
Wow. That's huge! I mean, Abram, imagine that! God's telling you again He's got plans for you. File that away and never forget it, okay?
Let's move on to Genesis 17. God gives Abram the covenant of circumcision and calls him Abraham, and Sarai, Sarah. My understanding is that the "ah" means "of God." So again, God is saying, "You're mine, dude. And I have awesome things I want to do with you. Just watch. You're gonna love it."
Well, maybe not quite like that, but God's pretty persistent in His reminders. Then, THEN, God tells him Sarah will bear a son, and even tells him WHEN. Despite laughing, Abraham follows God's instructions and every male is circumcised.
Now on to Genesis 20. Abraham tells Abimelech, king of Gerar, that Sarah is his sister, because he fears for his life. Now aside from the fact that Sarah's supposedly past child bearing age (sounds like menopause to me) and old, she must still be one hot chick for Abraham to fear for his life.
Again, did he forget that God said He was not only his shield (protector), but also God's promise of a son from his very own body? And from Sarah? Last time I checked, that only happened among the living. And breathing!
Okay, okay, humor aside, there's a great lesson here. One God allows us to see so we can learn from these very flawed characters who God still used and accomplished His amazing and perfect will.
Would Abraham have been more bold if he'd remembered God's promises and connected the dots between his well being and the completion of God's promises? I don't know. But we can learn from this and see how holding on to and REMEMBERING God's promises to us when things take a nose dive can help us persevere and believe what may seem impossible.
Now this is critical: Abraham acted on his own observations in both situations and BELIEVED accordingly. God wants more. He wants us believe His truth and promises and then ACT accordingly. (Beth Moore would be proud of me. I made a chiastic structure!)
Raymond Edman once said, "Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light."
Let's face it. We're human, we will have doubts. But that's when it's critical to remember what God told us, showed us, and DID in the past. Remember those moments, write them down like the Israelites were told to do, and read them again and again.
Amazingly, this is the foundation we need for those times when our prayers seem unheard and unanswered. But that's next week's topic, so stay tuned!
Praying and believing,
Dineen
Leave a Reply