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When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men…  Genesis 14:14  ESV

Abram surprises us when he takes up arms to fight.  He has always been a peacemaker.  No one who read his story in the preceding chapters would have any idea that he had a small, trained army within his own household.  Now, they are revealed and are released to go fight the enemies who have taken his nephew, Lot, captive.  Though Abram’s men are greatly outnumbered, they are fierce warriors with God on their side.  They will defeat the captors and free Lot.  This will not be the first or last time we will see God astound us.

It’s always a shock when a peacemaker is willing to fight.  It’s equally shocking when a fighter lays down his sword and pulls a chair up to the table to seek peace. Both have earned a reputation for responding to life in their own preferred way.

Each of us is bent, because of our personality, more toward one than the other.  Gentle spirits love peace and hate conflict.  Feisty spirits love a good fight and see those who seek peace as being weak.  We build a track record for only responding one way and those around us count on us to react as we have always done.  I am a peacemaker, by nature, and not easily inflamed.  It takes a lot to anger me and while that can appear admirable, I will tell you that it can be a fault.  A friend once told me, after hearing a few stories about a time when I had been badly harassed by someone, that I was patient to a fault.  She was right.

A balanced child of God, one who is like Jesus, does not act solely out of his personality type.  He listens to Jesus and follows Him even when he is asked to do something he finds more difficult.  A fighter needs to learn to be still.  A peacemaker needs to learn how to fight.  There is a time to take the hill and there is a time to show restraint.

 Many of us can live our lives thinking that the bents of our personality are the best traits.  May we meet in the middle?  Both are needed and both, acting under the direction of the Spirit, play pivotal roles in the purposes of God.

Teach me when to fight and not retreat.  Give me the boldness to step outside of my peacemaker box.  Amen

So the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. They also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.  Genesis 14:11-12  ESV

What looks good not be good for me.  When I choose something based on eye appeal, I will become a casualty of my ignorance.

Abram had been generous.  He and Lot had stood overlooking the vistas of new land and a new future.  Abram gave Lot the first choice of where he’d like to settle.  Lot was not prayerful, did not seek God, and did not seek Abram’s advice either.  He grabbed the greenest land to the East and settled there.  It was the land of Sodom. He did not know the folly of making such a critical decision without prayer.  In just thirteen years, enemies would come in, conquer the land, and take Lot and his family captive.

Seeing how this story turned out, I can over-correct in the flesh and do the opposite thing.  I vow to pick the lesser of two choices, thinking this to be God’s life lesson.  That is equally foolish.  The problem was not the lush land of Sodom.  The problem was Lot’s heart and his casual disregard for God’s will.

I must not let anything temporal control me. I can enjoy beautiful things but should hold them loosely. When presented with a job offer, one lucrative and one modest, I know I may be drawn to the one that promises wealth.  That being true, I know that I can’t trust myself.  Only God knows if that option is good for me lest I become like Lot whose perceived good fortune led him into slavery.

What choices are you weighing today?  Who to marry, where to move, what job to take, where to move a parent with special needs, and what church to attend?  The choice that seems obvious may be the wrong one.  The one without the glitter may turn out to be a blessing in disguise.  God is all too willing to reveal His secrets to any child who acknowledges that he is void of wisdom.

One final thought.  Lot knew God had spoken to Abram and promised him a blessed future.  Deciding to part ways with Abram at all was his greatest mistake

I make such a mess when I live by my senses.  I can’t tell what I’m looking at.  Oh God, protect me and lead me.  In Jesus’ name, Amen

Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.”  Genesis 13:17  ESV

God never meant for me to be passive about my faith.  He has made promises but I must make them mine by walking them out.  There will be times that promises appear to be in threat so I must rise to fight for faith.  There will be giants in my Canaan.  A life of faith does not mean a life of resting.  I must expect battles.

Being an ambassador of God on this earth means ruling on behalf of the His kingdom.  He’s the One who commissioned me.  Though earth is not my home, I’m sent here to represent my King and bring the laws of His kingdom to earth.  This is a cooperative effort.  As I prayerfully rule and do my part, God has my back.  As I stand in His promises, He fulfills them.  That’s why Moses was told to raise the rod over the Red Sea.  That’s why Joshua and the Israelites were told to march around the walls of Jericho.  They did their part and God brought the victory. 

God has just given Abram a blessing.  He promises him land in every direction his eyes can see and offspring greater than the sands of the sea.  But it won’t come to pass without Abram’s involvement.  He is told to walk the length and breadth of the land – personally staking his claim.

Walking out God’s promises is to be my way of life.  When my children’s future appears to be tenuous, I get on my knees and stake my claim on God’s promises for them.  When the ministry is under spiritual attack, I go to a day of fasting and re-claim the promises surrounding my calling.  When my home is under attack; when anger, anxiety, or depression swirl, when equipment begins to malfunction, when sleep is robbed, when people begin to act out without a cause, I do what Abram did.  I walk the lines of my property and sing.  I also take my “I Am” sheet with me and read it as I walk.  The victory is mine as God engages with my faith walk. 

Giants in the land were never there to cause me to faint.  They were there to teach me to live and fight for faith. 

When there were too many obstacles, Lord, I used to just abdicate.  Thank you for teaching me how to fight and for giving victory after victory.  As the stakes get higher, give me the grace to walk with more boldness.  Amen 

The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever.  Romans 13:14-15  ESV

Abram deferred to Lot out of sheer grace.  “Of all the land in front of us,” Abram said to Lot, “pick where you’d like to live!”  Lot chose with his eyes and picked Sodom, in the Eastward direction, because it was lush and green.  So, I can only gasp at the generosity of God.  He immediately spoke to Abram and told him that He would give him all the land in front of him; north, south, west, andeast.  Hadn’t Abram just given the east to Lot?  Yet God is telling him that it will still be his.

Why would I ever whine about how hard it is to follow God?  Why does He have such a bad reputation among His children for requiring unreasonable obedience?  Every time I obey, God rewards me somehow.  The payoffs are the joy of obedience, internal peace, and a sense of God’s favor in my life.  The payoff is also God rearranging my circumstances, changing people’s hearts, and causing me to inherit was has always been mine for His purposes. 

God is not the only One who gives rewards.  People give rewards.  Parents, bosses, and some in authority.  How many of their compensations seem fair?  They are usually skewed somehow, not equal to or greater than the cost.  Satan also rewards those who serve him.  Material things can pour in on the unrighteous and cause God’s children to say, “Why do the evil prosper?”  Satan often makes God look stingy and how he loves that! 

God has called me to pick up my cross and follow Jesus but I remember, as I struggle, that God will not only reward me but will give me the grace to say no to Satan’s premature payoffs and sources of pain relief.  By God’s grace, I will not cave.  And I will not be fooled by those who appear to have it all.  I have it all – in Christ. 

Change my heart’s appetite for heaven’s rewards. Amen

So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom.  Genesis 13:11-12  ESV

Abram gave Lot first choice as to which part of the land he wanted to claim for himself.  Lot chose the Jordan valley, a gorgeous, well-watered piece of property that resembled the garden of the Lord.  He chose with his eyes, with his senses.  His choice will come back to haunt him.  That which looked lush was really Sodom and he will barely escape with his life in the days to come.

I cannot assess anything correctly without consulting God. What looks lush one day can be a wasteland tomorrow.  And what looks barren today can be lush tomorrow once the hand of a miracle-working God touches it.  Does history not teach me this? 

God was clear not to judge a book by its cover, even when it comes to people.   He often chooses the least, the uneducated and the un-popular.  They can be the ones others pass over. When people choose leaders, they lean on their senses, caving to charisma and good looks.  God’s man may be someone others walk by and never give a second thought.  It was true with Jesus.

I stand at many crossroads over the course of my life.  God might call me to embrace a place, a calling, a companion, or a direction in life that appears to be wrong.  It may not glitter.  It might even repel.  I should not second-guess God’s voice.  Jesus was born in a stable, not a palace.  What seems so common can be transformed by the wind of the Spirit into something heavenly.  He turns deserts into gardens.  

I am reminded yet again that if I choose with my senses, I could very well regret it.  I will risk settling, working, and marrying in Sodom.

Abram wasn’t shaken by Lot’s choice.  He still trusted You and knew blessing was wherever You were leading Him.  I shut the eyes of my flesh and journey with You through the back door of blessing.  In Jesus’ name, Amen

And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land. Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” Genesis 13:5-9  ESV

There is no way to write about Abram’s dealings with Lot without displaying the entire scripture passage which tells the story.  Abram did what goes against the grain of every human being.  He gave preference to the ones who wanted his blessing.  Abram and Lot were never unified in mission.  There had been friction from the start.  Now, the conflict between them rises to the surface again.  The land is too small for both and all their flocks.  Their herdsman are fighting over pasture land and who should have rights to it.

Abram knows God has promised him the land and the blessing of prosperity.  But, instead of hoarding the blessing, instead of rising to play God, he defers to Lot.  He lets him be the first to choose what part of the land he would like to make his own.  Abram showed a lack of self-interest.  Why would he be so generous?

Because he believed in the sovereignty and promises of God.  Deferring to Lot would not threaten what God had promised.  Abram didn’t need to fight for what God said was his.  That battle was God’s and Abram rested in future provision.

God has given each of His children a calling and a host of promises to accompany it.  No one can steal it. God may be invisible but He is not inactive.  I do not need to come apart when it appears that I’m about to be crowded out of the picture.  God is still pulling strings to ensure my future.  I can step aside and be gracious, even to the unrighteous, feeling no need to fight for what God said is mine.  I can choose to live in the confidence of God’s promises rather than the fear of being left out.

From the time we are small, we cry when another takes away our toy. “Mine,” we protest.  The sense of injustice takes over our emotions.  God’s ways are difficult, and it takes the grace of God to react differently in adulthood.  Like Jesus who laid aside glory to become a servant, we can choose to serve our enemies, too.  His future was not threatened even though it looked like it was for a time.  Today, He sits in His rightful place of rule and authority.  The supposed threats are dead and gone and virtually nameless.  So it is if we choose to follow Jesus.  Deferring is not losing.  Deferring is an act of faith and the pathway to the blessing and inheritance that cannot be taken away.

When I’m clutching and hoarding, speak to my fearful heart.  In Jesus’ name, Amen

But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?  Genesis 12:17-18  ESV

When someone acts in a way that is different from their reputation, they usually become a topic of conversation.  If a consistently nice person turns on someone without provocation, it will be said ~ “I can’t believe it.  I’ve never seen them act like this!”  If a man leaves his wife after thirty-five years of marriage, a man others perceived as loving and stable, it will be said ~ “He was the last man I would ever believe could abandon his family.” This is the stuff that makes headlines; when people act out in ways that are contrary to their reputation. When Abram, well-known throughout Jewish history for his faith, distrusted God and lied to a king to save his family, it was said ~ “Abram really did that?”

Most of the time, the places where I sin are not surprising to me.  I know my weaknesses and I have a history of struggle in those areas.  Those who know me well know these chinks in my armor as well and pray for me.  What takes me by surprise however is when I fall in areas I think I’m immune.  I don’t expect the temptation, perfectly customized by an enemy who knows how he must present it to me.  He shapes its appeal to my liking and then times it perfectly.  When it appears on my radar, falling for it seems so natural that I’m completely disarmed.

On Abram’s great journey of faith from Ur to the Promised Land, he had moments where he was unfaithful.  He was tested again in those same areas and failed repeatedly.  But by God’s grace, he would succeed in the future in the biggest faith-test of all.  On Mt. Moriah, he would trust God by laying Isaac on the altar and raising a knife to take his life. Though he couldn’t see how God could intervene, he would obey nonetheless, and go down in history as the first one to whom God credited righteousness.

It is important to remember that I am not above any sin.  But what is also important is to remember is that no sin disqualifies me from God’s mercy.  He loves me even while I’m sinning.  His covenant love is not shaken loose because I wander into enemy territory. 

You are a God of mercy to a world of sinners, a God of grace to the throng of beggars.  I am both.  Amen

When he [Abram] was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you… Genesis 12:11-13 ESV

Abram launched into problem-solving mode. It was common for those high up in powerful positions to seize and plunder others’ wives and belongings. Surely an Egyptian king would take beautiful Sarai for his own. To protect her, Abram saw deceit as his only answer. Why didn’t he ask God to change the king’s heart? He had already trusted God with bigger things.

While Abram’s error may seem obvious because it’s about him, it’s not when it’s about me. If I have a history of making things work to go my way, I won’t even think of trusting God with something of high consequence. I’ll force things, make a mess, and then when I’ve hit a wall, I’ll turn to crisis prayers.

More times than I can count, I’ve been hemmed in. At that moment, I said ~ “Something has got to be done now!”  Waiting on God seemed reckless. The stakes seemed too high so I stepped in to try to solve it myself. But there is always another choice. Instead of forcing things, even coercing people to comply with my solutions, I can turn to God and wait for him to move in the hearts of other people. 

After Abram took matters into his own hands, things fell apart. When it escalated to a life and death situation, God stepped in. How much suffering would have been avoided if trusting God had been his initial response.

I always want to do something rash to bring relief. But I’m stopping. I’m trusting You to and weave a plan that will bring wings to me and glory to You. Amen

And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb. Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.  Genesis 12:9-10  ESV

Abram finally arrives in Canaan.  He is anxious to make it ‘home’ for his people but it turns out they can’t settle there yet because there is severe famine. Talk about disappointment!  But there is no indication that Abram was confused and that famine shook up his faith. His faith sustained him when, at that moment, God’s character could easily have been questioned.

Famine will drive Abram and his family to Egypt and his faith will be tested there.  God will use the circumstances to present the ‘perfect storm’.  The one who has not wavered yet from almost perfect obedience to God will falter.  God used adversity, like a famine, for the spiritual testing of this patriarch.

God is all about growing me up to a mature kind of faith, the kind Jesus had.  How does faith grow?  By testing what I know in the middle of the hard experiences of my life.  I can say I trust God but to what extent is that true?  Under what circumstances will my trust erode?  I can easily tell others that God is a faithful Father but will I believe that when I’m in the middle of a trail and can’t trace His hand yet? 

My first response to a famine in my spiritual Canaan can be to second-guess the decision I made to obey God and go there.  That conclusion is spiritually immature.  God can, and has, made promises to His chosen servants that were accompanied by adversity.  He promised favor but led them to pitch their tent with enemies.  He spoke of blessing but led them to the place where giants ruled.  He spoke of a promised land but then afflicted it with famine.  What kind of God is this?

Up to this point, Abram has been nearly perfect and someone hard to identify with.  That is about to change.  Our patriarchs were great men of faith but they were also human.  The scriptures don’t whitewash their sins nor do they hide them.  The lives of our forefathers were as messy as ours and yet we get to see God bless, correct, forgive, and then restore, time after time.  It is a Father/child relationship after all.

If I have heard God’s call, followed at great personal cost, and found myself in times of hardship, I know that this is not the end of the story.  God is in the process of transforming my faith while still being good for His promise.

And I should know better than to expect perfection in Canaan.  Canaan is not heaven, after all.   Help me adjust my expectations, rise above blaming, and call You good.  Amen

Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.  Genesis 12:6  ESV

Many have prayed for the will of God, followed His voice, and experienced complete disillusionment when they found themselves in hostile surroundings.  They blame God for being unloving or they blame themselves for being poor listeners.  Experiencing angst within the will of God is common and should not surprise God’s children.

When Abram encountered the Canaanites, hostile company epitomized, he didn’t pick up and move on.  He settled there.  Though he was the only Yahweh worshipper, He built an altar.  With far less revelation of God than I have, he was strong enough in his faith to be faithful.

Some years back, our family lived in a hostile environment.  We begged, daily, for release.  We were willing to move anywhere and do anything to escape our surroundings.  Surely, we reasoned, God wouldn’t want us to endure such a place.  Yet, every request for a move away was met by the silence of God.  One morning in prayer, the Spirit of God spoke to me through a verse in Psalms.  “Dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.”  Psalm 37:3    We were to learn how to make our little home a place where the glory of God rested.  We were to understand how to eat the sumptuous spiritual meal God provided daily amid our enemies.  We stayed three more years before God moved us out and that time proved to be one of the most formational times, spiritually, in our family’s history.

Many live in hostility.  Unfortunately, it can be with a husband, wife, child, or aging parent.  It can even be in a place of ministry.  Scorn and ridicule are the backdrops of daily life.  Instinct says to escape.  Do anything to run from such discomfort.  But God’s way is for His child to learn how to make Him their home.  The glory of Christ can descend on the darkest environment.

Give your child today spiritual grit, a willingness to stay in a tormenting place, and peace in submission.  Amen