When Life is a Mess - Don't Stress

He replied, "The Lord, before whom I have walked faithfully, will send His angel with you and make your journey a success so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father's family."

Genesis 24:40 (NIV)

The words of this scripture above seem to roll off Abraham's tongue as if he never questioned God's faithfulness. I wonder. Did he ever question it? Whether He did or did not, scripture recounts Abraham's continued faithfulness to believing God for the promise God made to him so many years ago. From Him would come a great nation that could not be measured. Yet, since Abraham continued to live somewhat nomadic, living in Canaan but still in a tent, it would only be human nature and maybe even a temptation to recall all the roadblocks he encountered to this promise.

From the call to uproot his family and move from his homeland, journeying to a place he had never been, to the escape by the skin of his teeth from Egypt under false pretenses that resulted in a sweet deal financially, to the illegitimate child born to him that came with the predisposition and promise that he would become a warring nation, Abraham was not perfect, but he was faithful. From the mysterious visitors to his tent to tell the news of a coming baby that would be born to him and Sarah when they would have been drawing Medicare, there was laughter and disbelief. As for being called willing to sacrifice his own son, paying no mind to the opinions of others, in every situation, whether Abraham had handled things right or wrong, he did the most essential thing - to stay faithful. He believed God and placed unwavering faith in God for the outcome.

Maybe the sticky messes Abraham fell into seem a bit extreme for today's time. I've not been asked to cast one of my children on an altar, morning sickness, not angels, announced the coming of both of my children and what I reaped from a rebellious spirit, I have paid for tenfold. Yet, continuing to seek God, to walk with Him, to hang on to every word He has spoken through scripture regardless of the situations we find ourselves in will bring about righteousness in us, not because we are perfect but rather because in our constant state of imperfection, we continue to believe God.

Abram believed the Lord and it was credited to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:6 (NIV)

When life is a mess - don't stress! Believe God.

Comments

When People Make Life Hard

"Well, are you going just to stand there or do something?" It was my first year of teaching, and I had learned quickly that the cafeteria was a no-talking zone for anyone. Students were expected to enter in silence, eat in the same manner, and exit without a word. So, staring at the horror on the child's face, the disapproval of my principal, and my feet surrounded by the mess on the floor, from the dropped tray, I froze. It didn't appear that either of us would experience any mercy. Sometimes, people just make life hard. It's not a new problem; it's an ancient one. Exodus chapter 5 has much to say about the perils of dealing with difficult people. In this chapter, the Israelites are enslaved people in Egypt under a Pharaoh who is quite a taskmaster and knows nothing about his slaves except that they can make many bricks every single day. Things get pretty ugly when Moses and Aaron are sent to free the Israelites from their bondage. Pharaoh had no intention o...

Christian Chameleons

As a teacher and administrator for the past thirty-one years, I have learned the powerful messages that are hidden within the pages of children's literature. Even as an adult, I identify with the character in Eric Carle's book, The Mixed-up Chameleon. It's the story of a young chameleon who just wanted to be like everyone else. So, unsatisfied with who he was on a particular day, he took on the likeness of every animal he met. Satisfied for a while, he later realized he had assumed the characteristics of so many different animals that he could no longer find himself. As believers in Jesus Christ, isn't this our story at times? We come to believe it is permissible for something or someone other than God to shape our character. In doing so, we become Christian chameleons and compromise our convictions for comfort to be like the rest of the world. Staying true to our convictions and beliefs nowadays is tough to do! The world cries out to us through media, music, literatu...

Hello Sixty

R ecently, I had one of those significant birthdays, another milestone, a wake-up moment that reminded me that I don't have forever left - at least not this side of heaven. I don't want to make too big a deal out of skipping from one decade to the next, but how did time pass so quickly? One minute, I am graduating from college, only to realize I now have four years left until retirement. In an instant, it seemed I had shifted from a new mother to a grandmother. Just yesterday, I was driving kids to the pool, hosting sleepovers, packing for camps, and shopping for school supplies. Still, nowadays, I rarely step foot in a pool or participate in any of those other activities. As I reflect on all these changes that came so slowly at the time yet now appear to have happened in a mere flash of light, I am tempted to make an argument for time travel. Not really, but things have changed - r...

When the Menu is Manna

Search This Blog