Like Father - Like Son

Genesis 26

God told Isaac that He would bless him. He restates His promises to Isaac that He had made to Abraham. And what does Isaac do? He promptly repeats the same mistake that his father made; he lies about his relationship with his wife Rebeckah, claiming she is his sister rather than his wife. This, of course, causes problems. People don't like being lied to and the king, Abimelech, is angry. However, he reassures Isaac and Rebeckah of their safety by making a decree to all in the kingdom that they (Isaac and Rebeckah) are not to be harmed in any way.

Then we see God's reaction. Does He get angry with Isaac? Does He seek to punish him for his mistake? No. Instead, He blesses him, just like He said He would.

I make so many mistakes. My trust level is embarassingly low. And when I realize my mistakes, I often wonder if God can still bless me. The answer to that question is found here, in Genesis 26. Even though we make mistakes and don't trust the way we should, God's love is a constant. He will continue to show us His love even as we blunder through our lives.

Isn't it great to have Someone like that as Ruler of the Universe?
Isn't it great to have Him as the Ruler of your life?
And isn't it great to have a Friend like this?

A Marriage Made in Heaven

Genesis 24

How interested is God in our daily concerns? Does He really care how good life is for His children? In Genesis 24, we have the story of how God answer the prayers of Abraham's servant and picked the perfect match for Isaac. Can you imagine what that would be like? It reminds me of how God created Eve, the perfect mate, for Adam.

This shouldn't really be so surprising; after all, God is love. He "invented" it, He is the source of it, and it is by knowing Him that we know how to best love others. Love is what God is interested in. And no one knows more about love and how it works than God. God is love.

It would be a difficult task to pick a wife for someone else. I try to see myself in the place of the servant and I am overwhelmed by what Abraham has asked. But that burden is lifted - it is left in the hands of God. The servant experiences only success and joy because he has placed his trust in God. And God rewards that trust.

Of course, the servant wasn't the only one trusting God in this matter. Abraham knew God would see to it that all worked out well. Rebekah trusted in God's leading. I can only image how difficult it was for Rebekah's family to let her go - but their trust in God gave them the confidence they needed to let her go. All the parties involved had a trust relationship with God.

But my favorite verse in this chapter is the last one, verse 67. Isaac also trusts God - he takes Rebekah into his mother's tent, marries her and loves her. In this, he is comforted after his mother's death. How close they must have been. How solid and wonderful their love for each other must have been, for their's was a marriage made in heaven.

I can see by this story that God does care for our happiness and wellbeing. He wants the very best for us, if we will only trust Him enough to let Him give it to us. Of course, there will be hardships and difficulties in our lives. From these we have lessons to learn. But above all is the love of God for each and everyone of us. He wants us to be happy, He wants us to be with Him, and He will do whatever it takes to make that happen if we will only trust Him.

God Will Provide The Offering

Genesis 22:1-13

Abraham has changed. This was the man who felt it necessary to lie for his own safety. This was the man who had taken his wife's maid to his bed because he didn't think God would really fulfill His promise of a son. But here's Abraham, hearing when God speaks, and obeying without question. The change is amazing - it's a change I can hardly imagine.

My son and I have a special relationship. (Actually, I have a special relationship with each of my children, but in this case the relationship with my son is most relevant.) We are both artist, we share a lot of the same interest and we have a lot of the same temperament. I can't imagine how I would react if God asked me to give up my son. As I try to put myself in Abraham's place, it's plain to see that this took a tremendous amount of faith on Abraham's part. There was only one way that Abraham could have done what he did - total and complete faith in God.

As I look at my struggles - at my faith failures, I often feel like Abraham in Egypt. Fear is a primary motivation in my life and it is so hard to trust that God is looking out for me and my family. But God continues to work with me, showing me that He can be trusted and building up my faith in the process. Will I ever reach the heights of faith that Abraham had? I don't know, but I do know that God wants the best for me and that He is working with me everyday to make my faith stronger.

Waiting On God

Genesis 21:1-7

God didn't explain to Abraham and Sarah, nor to us, why He waited so long to fulfill His promise to them. He'd promised to give them a son, to build a nation with generations of Abraham and Sarah's descendants - and He kept His promise. He made it happen at in the time frame that He had set from the start. We don't know why this was the right time but we do know that it was God's plan that it happen at that certain time.

It took a lot of faith to wait for God to fulfill His promise on His time schedule. In fact, it took more faith than Abraham had. Abraham, a man pointed to as a giant of faith, didn't have enough faith to wait on God's timetable. And yet, even with the mess that Abraham and Sarah had made with their impatience, God still blessed them by fulfilling His promise to them.

This is an area where I really struggle. Waiting for God's timing is very difficult and I start looking for ways to force things to happen quicker. I can certainly understand how Abraham and Sarah felt. But the lesson here is that God is still there with me, still watching over me, still wanting me to trust Him, even in my impatience.

If I was really smart, I'd realize that His timing is perfect, that my timing stinks and that I should have the faith to needed to wait on the Lord. But I don't always do the smart thing and I take great comfort in the fact that He doesn't abandon me when I just don't have what it takes to wait. Thank God He doesn't get impatient with our impatience.

When Will I Ever Learn?

Genesis 20

You'd think Abraham and Sarah would have learned from their experience in Egypt - but they make the same mistake again in Gerar; they tell the king, Abimelech, that Sarah is Abraham's sister. While it wasn't really a lie, it was designed to mislead the king into believing that Sarah was not Abraham's wife. Again, Abraham is depending on his own cleverness to save himself from what he perceives as a threat to his life.

It's tempting to look at this and think, "How stupid of Abraham - didn't he learn anything from his experience in Egypt?" But what I am amazed by is God's reaction. He stands by Abraham, He defends him and protects him. This interaction between Abraham and God tells me that God doesn't get fed up with us when we make the same dumb mistakes repeatedly. This is very encouraging to me, because I also tend to make the same mistakes over and over. I have a difficult time learning from my past experiences and I tend to depend on my own "cleverness" too much. When will I ever learn? God is there for me. He cares about me and my family and He wants the very best for us. Most of all, He wants me to trust Him.

It's All In The Plan

Genesis 18:1-15

Sometimes, I'm so tempted to give up hope for some of the changes I long for. I can certainly identify with Sarah - it doesn't seem possible that things will work out the way I'd like. I have dreams that I've about given up on. There are things I'd like to accomplish but I have doubts that I'll get the opportunity to devote the time necessary to see them through. It makes me sad and sometimes it makes me angry. It's a sad anger that is aimed primarily at myself. "Why didn't you prioritize better, why didn't you make better decisions, why didn't you (don't you) stay connected to the Source?"

Two thoughts come to mind here:

The first is, "Look at all the blessings you have!" I have a terrific family - don't take this lightly; I know of families that are a mess! But I'm blessed. My wife is kind and loving to me, she has a great sense of humor and she truly cares for all of us. My oldest daughter (who was such a strong-willed child when she was younger) has turned out to be a truly great person - I'm so glad that she lives near by and spends time with us. My son is such a classy guy - he's talented (artist/designer) and funny and lots of fun to be with. And I'm so proud of my youngest daughter. Even though she had little or no educational instruction through parts of her middle school years and ended up dropping out of high school, she did what it took to get into college and is an honor roll student in Communication Disorders. This is all because of her drive and determination. And of course, there are the people that have come into my life because of our family. My son's wife, my oldest daughter's roommate and my youngest daughter's boyfriend; these are all outstanding people that I consider to be truly a part of the family. So. . .this is a pretty big blessing.

The second thought that comes to mind is from verse 14, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" I truly believe that if the dreams that I have are something that would be good for me and are in God's plan for me, He can make them happen. This reminds me of Jeremiah 29:11 where He says, "I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

So I won't loose hope, but my hope will be that I remain connected to the Lord so that I will fit into His plans for me. I can't imagine a better life.

No Broken Promises

Genesis 16:1 & 2 and
Genesis 17:1

What happens when God makes us a promise, but we get impatient and try to make the promise come true on our own? Does God become angry? Does He withdrawal His promise because we didn't trust Him enough to let Him do it His way?

Sarai, Abram's wife, thought she had a solution to the infertility problem. If you read the whole of Chapter 16, you see what a mess this solution made. But what's interesting here is how God reacted to Abram and Sarai. He didn't "call off" the deal; instead, He restates it and makes it even stronger! He changes their names so that every time someone calls them by name they will be reminded of God's promise. Their very identity is now tied to what God is doing for them.

It's amazing to me - even when I blow it and fail, God still keeps His promises. My bad acts don't turn Him away - He doesn't "call off" the deal. He still wants me to be a part of His kingdom, He still forgives me of my sins, He still wants my companionship. Truly amazing.