We’ve got your daily encouragement, written by Mark Graves.
Bible Reading:
Genesis 13:10-11
“And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other.“
Word:
How much do you really trust God?
Do you trust enough to willingly take the worst portion believing that God can work out the future without your help? Abraham received the covenantal promise from God and enacted it into his life. He ventured forth with his nephew Lot seeking that promised place.
This was not a straightforward A to B journey either. It zigged and zagged and wandered around sometimes even away from the target God had promised. Years later, Lot and Abraham’s families and belongings had grown enough that they needed to split apart as the land could not support them both together (read Genesis 13). Abraham meets with Lot and says, “You choose the way to go with your people, and I will go the opposite.”
Now, if Abraham had not trusted in God’s ability to bring about what was promised, he could have said, “Hey Lot, we followed God’s promise to me. I get the choice and you get the leftovers.” Lot of course chose the best-looking land and Abe ended up with the desert in the opposite direction.
It takes an extreme faith and hope in the promises of God to willingly take the worst portion, believing in God to work it out. Too often we are like Lot, we want the prettiest looking land now. We do not have the faith or the hope to believe that the better portion will come later.
Since 2017, I have been on the hunt for the proper job. I have had some good roles and some not so good roles (the one I am currently in is one of the worst). Through this whole journey, I have believed consistently that there is a role I will fit. I hold out that hope and continue keeping my eyes open for what is around the corner. That is where hope comes in. It is not a journey where we can see the end. Abraham never saw the end of the full promise in his life, but he never stopped believing.
Prayer:
God help me to see your promises for me. Help me to hold onto hope even though that finish line looks like it will never be achieved. Thank you, God. Amen.
Skillwork:
Take some time to journal and to think on people in the Bible who never saw what was promised to them. How did they hold onto hope even though they in some cases knew they would never see that end? How did Abraham?
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