The Lord made quite a few promises to Abram and has all the time been in control of his life? He dictated the activities and promises and dealt with the crises and problems. All Abram needed to do was obey. It works the same with us.
In Genesis 15 Abram was ready for the Lord’s next step – the covenant.
“As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 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. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure,” (Genesis 15:12-16).
The Lord had the future of His nation planned out in the most intricate details and this He revealed to Abram so he could understand the purpose of his existence. Abram was to simply obey the Lord as He prepared the way for His new nation to be born. Abram was only an instrument in this greater vision, but he was an essential instrument, for if he messed up as he certainly did, the destinies of many people would be affected.
How did Abram mess up? He took matters in his own hands and produced a son for himself through Hagar, and when he and Sarai realised the blunder they’d make, they tried to get rid of it by getting Hagar to leave. Satisfied that they had swept the problem under the carpet, they went on with their lives. But they underestimated God.
“The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, ‘Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?’
‘I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,’ she answered.
Then the angel of the Lord told her, ‘Go back to your mistress and submit to her.’ The angel added, ‘I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count,’” (Genesis 16:7-10).
God is faithful to His promises and abounding in love. Ishmael was also Abram’s descendent, but the repercussions of this sin of Abram has affected Christianity for centuries and still do. Ishmael’s descendants took up the faith of Islam.
The Lord also has a long term plan with each of our lives and many of us have probably also messed up, bearing the repercussions of our disobedience. The Lord has however not given up on Abram and proceeded with His plans in spite of Abram’s weaknesses. He was determined to have His own nation and went to much trouble to develop them. We know how much trouble Israel gave the Lord, but He still loves them as His own.
The Lord hasn’t given up on you, no matter how many mistakes you’ve made and how deep you’ve sunk. I’ve had a call on my life since I’ve been a child, but I also had these foolish tendencies to mess up due to character weaknesses. The battle is never ending, but I fight the good fight and as long as I feed my spirit with the Word and resist the flesh, the Lord is faithful in using my anointing to accomplish what He called me for. Fortunately Paul the Apostle had similar battles, so we are in good company.
The Lord would have revealed to you what His plans are with you, things only you are anointed for. He has done it with all Biblical people and if you don’t know it yet, you should start asking Him to show you. He needs you to make a difference in His Kingdom. You may also have messed up, but take heart, you can always press reset .
Lord, thank you that you are faithful in fulfilling your plan. Please help me to be faithful too.
Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.
Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.
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