On the Move in a New Day

 

Monday, January 2, 2023

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.  I will make you into a great nation.  I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.  I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt.  All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”  So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him.  Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.  Genesis 12:1-4

It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance.  He went without knowing where he was going.  And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents.  And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise.  Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.  Hebrews 11:8-10

There’s an old comprehension test that asks the question:  Which of these is different from the others?  Our text qualifies for that kind of understanding:

A new day, new year, new calling of God to an old man.

“New” days and callings suggest things opening, budding, sprouting…all on the way-up.  An old man’s new things are aches, bumps, bruises he’d never noticed, and energy on the way-down – more the discovery of what doesn’t work anymore, or that which hurts too much to try again.  Appointments at the doctor’s office are on the rise; playing third base for the Yankees is out!

Abraham was my age (75) when God whispered in his ear to pack his bags, pull up the tent-stakes, and hit the road.  It was harder back then…transportation issues alone might have killed whatever ambition the old man had left.  Either riding a mule or walking through the desert was no picnic.  But the greatest consideration was leaving the life he’d built, and all the familiar sights and routines of home to become a newbie-stranger in a foreign land.  It would be like spending 7½ decades in rural Georgia, then moving to Boston.  Had I been Abraham I might have questioned the voice that spoke in Haran that day.

And perhaps he did ask God to elaborate.  I’ll have to remember to ask Abe that when I meet up with him some day.   Even if it was a longer discussion than Scripture records, the focus isn’t on how long it took Abraham to say Yes, Lord!  Rather it is for us to take note of his faith that went home and told Sarai they were picking up and moving.  “Where?” said his bride.  “I don’t know,” said Abe.  We can imagine the rest of the conversation, with Mrs. Abraham trying to find out if her husband had been at the camel juice again.  Could be it was a very silent trip to Canaan-land.

For You Today  

It’s not an easy thing to change; it’s incredibly difficult when you’ve been settled your whole life.  It’s monumental when you’re asked to turn the fruit-basket upside down and throw caution to the wind…especially so as you get older, and caution becomes your way of life. 

But God honors faith…that which steps forward into His promises.  So, whether you’re a teenager, or into your eighth-decade, live and rest in God’s Word.  And act by the faith which knows:

Until God says Move Out you stay put.  

When God says Move out don’t just sit there!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

  Three-part series:  Yield – Part One   Yield – Part Two   Yield – Part Three

Images:  Title Pixabay.com   Images without citation are either personal property of the author, or in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

When God Makes You Laugh

Monday, December 19, 2022

Then God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai, your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai.  From now on her name will be Sarah.  And I will bless her and give you a son from her!  Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations.  Kings of nations will be among her descendants.”  Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief.  “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought.  “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?”   Genesis 17:15-17

There are those times when God unveils a blessing that’s just too good.  Scripture records the kind of laughter Abraham experienced as unbelief.  That’s very different from being known as the father of the faithful.  But, in this case, it’s somewhat understandable.  Abraham’s heart had hungered so long for the reality of the promise God had made to him, yet he and Sarai had never been parents together.  They were well-past such things.  Now he was a hundred, and his bride was 90.  Was God unaware nursing homes aren’t equipped with maternity wards?  I can just see the smirk forming at the corners of Abram’s lips, picturing himself signing-up for Lamaze classes down at the VFW.  It seemed like a cruel joke to play on an old man.  For decades he’d hoped and been patient.  Now, when all that hope seemed a mere frustration, was God just messing with Abram’s mind? 

Rewinding the video to an earlier time, Abram had never smiled at the hard things before.  There was that moment when God said:  Pack your bags, Abe; bring Sarai and all your stuff…got something I want to show you.  Abraham looked at the horizon beckoning, and just took the first step…not much of a miracle. 

But  God asking him to believe in becoming a dad when he was already on Social Security…this was just too much a fantasy.  How could he NOT laugh?  Scripture tells us Sarai also laughed over that incredible idea, but 9 months later there was a cradle in their bedroom, and the fulfillment of God’s Word meant diapers, and a whole new way of thinking about this life of faith to which God had called them.  What a ride!

For You Today  

Have your prayers gone unanswered?  Are there some things you’ve hoped for that no other person on earth knows about, but have been almost daily in your prayers?  Does it seem too good to be true that God might be telling you to hang-in with Him a little bit longer…because His promises are certain? 

And what if it happened?  What would it be like to have God make you laugh…today?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

   An Uncomfortable Answer from the Whirlwind and The School of Suffering and Unanswered Prayer

Images:  Title Pixabay.com   Images without citation are either personal property of the author, or in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

Hagar's Legacy

[1]

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur.  The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?”  “I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai,” she replied.  The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.”  Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.”  And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son.  You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress.  This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey!  He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him.  Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.”  Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her.  She said, “You are the God who sees me.”  She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?”  So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”).  It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered.  

Genesis 16:7-14^(NLT)

It’s foreign to our 21^st century Western culture, but being barren drove Sarai to have her husband Abraham take another wife, Hagar, Sarai’s slave/servant , and perhaps gain an heir to the family. 

Once pregnant, the slave girl became a thorn in Sarai’s pride.  She flaunted the treasure in her womb and it was just too much for Sarai, so she proceeded to work on driving a wedge between Hagar, Abraham and herself.  It worked, and Hagar was sent packing into the desert.  The Angel of the Lord found Hagar and in the ensuing conversation told Hagar her son, would be a wild man, untamed, and always ready to fight! 

The legacy of the union between Sarai’s servant girl, Hagar, and Sarai’s husband, Abraham is not much different than the rest of humanity:  anger, defiance, rebellion and violence against one another.  It’s hard to lay all the blame on Hagar’s back; after all, she was just continuing a family tradition that got started by humanity’s parents at that special tree in Eden. 

Hagar didn’t help with the problem much; neither did Sarai and Abraham.  Hagar shares one trait in common with her ancestor Adam, that peculiar bent towards denial.  If you noticed, the Angel of the Lord asked her from where she came, and to where she was headed.  Although she gives a factual answer (running away), it belies the greater truth of her beginnings.  Hagar had a pivotal role in this drama.  She had gotten a bad deal, something she hadn’t asked for; she had also acted with disdain and anger. 

It’s a subtle point, but the angel told her to name her child Ishmael, meaning God hears.  She did that, but notice she referred to the Lord as the one who sees me.  This seemingly diminutive perspective shift on Hagar’s part is like a 1° change in course as a ship starts out from San Francisco on a voyage to Tokyo.  If you’re off target just a smidge North it won’t make much of a difference passing the Golden Gate Bridge, but by the time you’ve gone 5,600 miles to Japan you won’t be in Tokyo, you’ll be 100 miles North in Iwaki. 

The point here is that humans have had a hard time staying on course in our relationships, both with God and each other.  It has to do with the beast within.  The legacy of Hagar’s wild, fighting, untamable son, Ishmael is constant strife, distrust, anger and war.

That’s quite a legacy!

For You Today

Hagar ran away from her problems to no particular place.  Hagar’s descendants wander still, and carry on the family tradition of Ishmael as they cannot abide peacefully with anyone.  By comparison, another Son came as the Prince of Peace.  Jesus ran TO our problems, and He has a place prepared for us that He’s been working on for quite some time…in perfect peace.  Which legacy will you prolong this day?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com

Hagar & Sarai

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Sarai, Abram’s wife, hadn’t yet produced a child.  She had an Egyptian maid named Hagar.  Sarai said to Abram, “God has not seen fit to let me have a child.  Sleep with my maid.  Maybe I can get a family from her.”  Abram agreed to do what Sarai said.  So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took her Egyptian maid Hagar and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife.  Abram had been living ten years in Canaan when this took place.  He slept with Hagar and she got pregnant.  When she learned she was pregnant, she looked down on her mistress.  Sarai told Abram, “It’s all your fault that I’m suffering this abuse.  I put my maid in bed with you and the minute she knows she’s pregnant, she treats me like I’m nothing.  May God decide which of us is right.”  “You decide,” said Abram.  “Your maid is your business.”  Sarai was abusive to Hagar and she ran away.  An angel of God found her beside a spring in the desert; it was the spring on the road to Shur.  He said, “Hagar, maid of Sarai, what are you doing here?”  She said, “I’m running away from Sarai my mistress.”  The angel of God said, “Go back to your mistress.  Put up with her abuse.”  He continued, “I’m going to give you a big family, children past counting.  From this pregnancy, you’ll get a son:  Name him Ishmael; for God heard you, God answered you.  He’ll be a bucking bronco of a man, a real fighter, fighting and being fought, Always stirring up trouble, always at odds with his family.” 

Genesis 16:1 - 12 (TMSG)

In 21^st century Western culture we can only imagine the reality and nuances of ancient Eastern customs, the like of which drove Abram’s wife Sarai to place a household servant in her husband’s bed. 

But that’s what she did.  And the problems started immediately.

Hagar’s pride in her ability to conceive manifested itself in contempt towards the one she was to serve, Sarai.  And it was Sarai’s idea in the first place, but she now despised the outcome of her plan, and became so abusive to Hagar that the slave girl rain away.

A “rocky road” indeed!

Hagar found herself on a wilderness rocky road, wondering what to do.  God’s angel shows up and informs her that the son to which she would give birth would be the worst troublemaker in the East.

Hagar was defenseless – totally.  She was a slave, made to conceive a baby with an old man; she was pregnant and abused, and then kicked out to fend for herself.  Suddenly the rocky road is filled with boulders; huge ones, piled like a mountain! 

And did you notice that God’s angel proposes a plan that involves tolerating more abuse?  “Go back and tough it out….God is watching over this.”

Some days it seems like it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed!

Ever felt like Hagar?

Have you ever felt totally powerless?  No more answers, no plans or even a clue what to do next?  And then someone comes up with a plan for you (don’t they always?)!

How did Hagar respond?

She answered God by name, praying to the God who spoke to her, “You’re the God who sees me!” “Yes! He saw me; and then I saw him!”     Genesis 16:13 (TMSG)

Today

Have a little “Hagar faith”.

Your circumstances may be more difficult than Hagar’s (at least to you), but your response can be just as faith-filled.

And that’s what God wants – just trust Him; know that He sees you.  And if you are patient with your faith, in due time you’ll see His hand move.

Title Photo:  http://sunshineinthestorm.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/sarah-and-hagardwellingintheword.jpg