Truth For The Moment:
Leave Your Country:
This week we began a new series of lessons written by Beth Moore entitled The Patriarchs. I enjoyed the first week’s study and look forward to the next nine lessons.
Beth immediately grabbed my attention with her statement in the first paragraph on Day One’s lesson: “When you don’t have God, any god will do.” How many of us have spent seasons of our life serving other gods? Sure enough, the gods of the Old Testament patriarchs were idols and beings of worship put in place to fill the void in the hearts and lives of people. Today in America the type of god has changed from idols and beings to material possessions, self-gratification and feeling. Whatever the object of our worship may be, it stems from a longing to be fulfilled, loved and value. We must remember the same emptiness that stemmed from the worship of false gods in the days of Abram is the same results we receive from the god’s of our day. Just as Abram found out there is only one God worthy of our praise, worship and glory—the most High God! Our worship of God is “never aimless.” Our worship of God never turns down a narrow street with a sign posted on the shoulder which reads “Dead End.” Just as God moved Abram out for a purpose, God moves us out of our comfort, sinful and complacent zones with specific purpose in mind. Any failure on our part to navigate the valleys and mountains does not discount God and His sovereignty but rather enforces our depraved and sinful nature. It never voids or changes God’s initial call; it points to a self-inflicted detour. It points to pride and selfishness hidden in the GPS of our hearts. This truth was displayed in Abram’s life as he lied about his wife being his sister, detoured from God’s plotted course, found himself confronted by a plague and upset Pharaoh. As children of the most High God, we must constantly bring ourselves to trust the will of God over the will of man. God always knows what is best for His children.
Often times, following the will of God brings confrontation with those we love and care about. As we strive to serve the God we love, others will serve the god that pleases them. This was seen in the confrontation that arose in the life of Abram concerning the size of the flocks and the shortage of feed. We cannot miss the great truth of this passage. We must separate ourselves from the influences of all the ungodly. There comes a time and place in which separation becomes necessary. Concerning Abram and Lot’s separation, Abram was blessed for his direction, and Lot was disciplined for his.
Let me close this week’s post with a challenge. Whether it’s the influence of ungodly people or the draw of other gods, refuse to detour from the course that God has laid out for you. Stay the course! The words to an old familiar hymn come to mind: “When we walk with the Lord, in the light of His word, what a joy He sheds on our way…trust and obey for there’s no other way.”
Pastor Barry