Good morning my dear “Walking with Jesus” friends,
So… where do you go with your complex, difficult, life questions… the ones you’d like to ask God? Have you ever been with someone when they were in a very hard place, and unafraid to boldly ask God really hard stuff? If so, did you wince, afraid maybe lightning might strike or that person might fall over dead with a heart attack? Today, let’s look this issue right in the face.
We’re on a journey with Abraham, one of the great heroes of the Bible, and he’s on a steep learning curve about knowing God, living in a full trust relationship with God, and learning how God deals with us, humanity. Today join me in Genesis chapter 15. By my estimation Abram is about 85 yrs old as this chapter opens. It’s been 10 years and maybe 1000 miles of traveling since Abram left Haran in Gen. 12, walked all the way to Canaan, began to settle down there, then hiked down to Egypt to escape the famine. Then, after deceiving the Pharaoh of Egypt, Abram was ‘run out of town’, and hiked back to Canaan, and because of all their combined wealth in livestock, Abram and his nephew Lot had to separate. Then in chapter 14 Lot is taken captive as the town he was living in Sodom, is overrun by marauders. Abram and his men rescue Lot and all his possessions, but unwisely, Lot returns to live in Sodom again. Abram returns to his relatively peaceful life in Hebron. Well, perhaps peaceful in terms of no war, and plenty to eat… but not peaceful in his heart.
More than 10 years before, God had promised Abram that he’d have descendants…lots of them, (Gen. 12:7 & 13:15) But his wife Sarai remains childless. I think Abram was beginning to doubt God’s trustworthiness. Has that ever happened to you? Then, all of a sudden, totally unexpected, God shows up and speaks to Abram. The record says “…the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” (Gen. 15:1)
Now maybe you’re scratching your head a bit and wondering what that means. I think Abram might have been doing the same. ‘Shield‘ is obviously protection. ‘Reward‘ is normally something awarded for a great achievement and brings satisfaction, fulfillment, contentment. Yes, I’m sure Abram could agree God was His protection, oh my he had experienced that so many times. But “reward”? I don’t think Abram was content. Look at his courageous response to the vision: “But Abram said, ‘O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus. You have given me no children, so a servant in my household will be my heir.” (Gen. 15:2,3)
My friends, I’m so glad the Bible is honest, real, even raw. Abram was growing in his awareness of God, his understanding of God, his relationship with God, and it seems to me Abram is willing to give God the hard questions which are rumbling deep in his soul. We don’t know his tone of voice, or his body language as Abram made this statement, but I don’t imagine it was gentle. I suspect it was respectful frustration! Do you see Abram is very respectful in how he addresses God…“Sovereign LORD”. As you know friends, the Sovereignty of God is a very significant attribute. It means God has total authority over all things, at all times, in all places. It means nothing exists or happens without God’s direct involvement. Either God causes it to happen, or God allows it to happen. Either God creates it, or it naturally reproduces from something God created, or mankind has fabricated it from something God created, or it is the God initiated, natural evolution of growth or decay. Now ponder that a moment. Have you ever been in that place of what I’m calling “respectful frustration” with God?
I think Abram concluded this: God had 10 years before promised Abram would have descendants, but the fact is, he has none! 10 years is a long time when you are 80 years old, especially if you are waiting for a miracle! Therefore, since God is Sovereign Abram remains childless under God’s Sovereignty! That means something’s wrong! Either God lied, or God is too busy, or God forgot, or Abram is in some way messing up God’s plan, or. . . what else could it be? Look with me at God’s response to Abram’s bold ‘respectful frustration’ statement. The record says: “Then the word of the LORD came to Abram: ‘this man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.‘ God took him outside and said, ‘Look up at the heavens and count the stars – if indeed you can count them. So shall your offspring be.” (Gen. 15:4,5) I think Abram stood there, under a star filled sky, with his head tilted so far back that his mouth was pulled open… and he just soaked it in. How many stars could he see that night? Hundreds? Thousands? Millions? Let’s just stand there with him for a moment or two and be amazed!
God was kind in his response, wasn’t He? No ridicule, no judgment, no punishment, not even any explanation of why 10 years later, Abram & Sarai still have no children… simply a very clear statement, a proclamation, a declaration. “a son coming from your own body will be your heir… count the stars if you can, so shall your offspring be!!!” I wonder if Abram fell to his knees, or maybe just laid down on his back on the ground… and laid there a very long time looking up at the stars. I believe in that moment ‘respectful frustration’ turned to ‘awesome belief’! Abram was awed by God’s declaration, and something welled up from deep inside him that overwhelmed Abram… a belief, a total confidence that somehow, even though he was 85 years old, somehow God would make it possible for him to be a dad!
The record says, and we’ll look deeply into this tomorrow: “Abram BELIEVED the LORD, and He [God] credited it to Abram as righteousness.” (Gen. 15:6) It means Abram went to a new, deeper, full surrender place of TRUST in God. God saw it and understood what was happening in Abram’s heart, and God deepened their relationship in a very significant way that night, which we’ll explore tomorrow.
Have you ever been there, my friends? In a place of frustration, even allowing your mind to consider that maybe God has a part in what is causing you deep frustration? Have you risked bringing your frustration to God? Did you then open God’s Word and He spoke to you directly from the Bible and it overwhelmed you with His greatness, His majesty, His sovereignty? Did it convince you that God was big enough and fully aware enough that you could trust Him to BE Sovereign in your frustrating situation? Or maybe like Abram, you stepped outside and you watched a sunrise or sunset or a star filled night sky, or the rolling waves at the beach, or you held a new baby, or some other majestic sight, and the Spirit of God spoke peace into your frustrated heart?
Let’s pause right here and may I give you two Psalms in the Bible which seem to fit here perfectly? Psalm 8 & Psalm 19. I invite you to read them each, slowly, maybe more than once, even out loud, respectfully, and invite the Holy Spirit to penetrate those words deep into your soul today. If you do that I believe you will experience a supernatural peace of God, even if you are right now in a very frustrating situation.
And then, after you’ve read and pondered the majesty of God… here’s a worship song that I think will bring great comfort to your soul. You see my friend, you may think you need a huge miracle, something spectacular, but as Abram learned, what you need most is God’s personal, private, tender, powerful touch, right at your place of need. And God knows that place in you even better than you do! Listen to this tender and powerful song…
