genesis

paralyzed by the whys

Posted on by Grace Day

I don’t know about you, but I want things in my life and in this world to make sense, to be predictable, to be foreseeable, to be understandable, to be controllable. I guess I want to feel that I have some power over the events that surround and affect me on a daily basis. I can even be lulled into temporary complacency, thinking I will always have tomorrow to do or to take care of whatever it is that I am putting off doing at the moment. And then the unexpected evil strikes and I am reminded that I should be redeeming the time.

“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16)

It certainly does seem as though these days are filled with evil events that surprise us and shock us out of any complacency that might have characterized our days. I find myself feeling overwhelmed, discouraged and defeated when such evil acts occur. I often feel paralyzed, wondering what I can do, if anything, that will make a difference against such seemingly overwhelming evil. Then I remember these words from Paul’s letter to the church in Rome –

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21)

Ok, I am to be doing good in this world. But what does that “good” look like? Well, as it turns out, in Romans I find some pretty good (pun intended) suggestions of good things I can do, suggestions on how I can live my life in a way that just might make a difference for good, that just might make this world more like the place I wish that it were and desperately want it to be. These are the directions –

“Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. . . . Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. . . . Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. . . . Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath. . . . On the contrary: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.” (Romans 12:9-20)

These words are good advice but a constant challenge for me to actually live out. However, when I do follow God’s leading and obey His commands, through the power of His Holy Spirit, I discover that I am able to make a difference for good in this world. I need not be paralyzed with fear and despair when horrible things happen, things that break my heart and cause me to question who is winning this war – good or evil? I don’t have to remain paralyzed. God calls me to action – the action of loving Him and of loving my neighbor. Action is the antidote to paralysis just as love is the antidote to hate and peace the antidote to violence.

It is all too easy for me to become burdened with the “whys” when terrible things happen – BUT these words of Jesus give me hope –

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

I don’t have to lose hope when circumstances seem to suggest that evil is winning the day. After all, God allowed Joseph to be sold by his own brothers into slavery in Egypt. Looked like a win for evil. BUT – There Joseph worked his way up into a pretty sweet gig, being in charge of Potiphar’s household. That didn’t last however, and Joseph ended up in prison after being falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife. BUT – in prison Joseph found favor and made friends with Pharoah’s cupbearer. This lead to Joseph eventually becoming Pharoah’s second in command. Why did God let the bad things happen to Joseph? Joseph himself answered this question when he said this to his brothers –

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20)

In this case it was the literal saving of the physical lives of Abraham’s descendants, Jacob and his sons and their children. There was a famine in their land so they traveled to Egypt to get food to sustain them. Egypt had plentiful stores of grain because of Joseph’s wise leadership, so Joseph was able to offer them lifesaving rations. But Joseph did better than that, he invited them to come to Egypt to live, all of them and their flocks and herds of animals which would otherwise have died during the famine. The saving of many lives was accomplished.

Today, God is still bringing good out of evil events. Evil never has the last word. In John, I read these words of Jesus –

“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” (John 12:24)

How true. The buried seed becomes a plant or a tree which grows and produces a thousand- fold more seeds, which will in their turn be buried, allowing them to produce an even greater crop of plants and trees and exponentially more seeds. Today, even as I grieve, I will not be paralyzed by the “whys.” Instead, I will trust in the goodness of my Sovereign Heavenly Father and His eternally good plan for His beloved, those He created in His very own image – us – you and me, dear readers – we are His and He has good plans for each one of us.

” ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ ” (Jeremiah 29:11)

If only you and I would choose His way instead of our own ways. When I choose to trust my Sovereign Creator God, I am no longer paralyzed by the “whys” of evil events or by the fear and despair that can result from evil acts apart from the grace, forgiveness and hope that are found in God’s ways. Today, and every day, I choose to trust in God, even in the face of evil.

” ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.’ ” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

sincerely, Grace Day

Abraham’s Advent

Posted on by Grace Day

Abraham had an Advent experience that foreshadowed what would actually take place centuries later, the advent or arrival of God’s Son here on earth. Abraham’s experience occurred when God gave Abraham these very specific instructions –

“Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.’ ” (Genesis 22:2)

Abraham obeyed God. He and Isaac set out on their journey toward the appointed place. As they got closer to their destination, this conversation took place between father and son,

” ‘The fire and the wood are here,’ Isaac said, ‘but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’ Abraham answered, ‘God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ And the two of them went on together.” (Genesis 22:7-8)

Abraham trusted God to provide what was needed – a lamb for the necessary sacrifice. And God did just that. Abraham was preparing to sacrifice his son, Isaac, as God had told him to do but –

“But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’ ‘Here I am,’ he replied. ‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ he said. ‘Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son.’ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.’ ” (Genesis 22:11-14)

God provided the ram for the sacrifice required of Abraham at that time. Centuries later God would again provide what was needed, what we needed, just as He had done for Abraham. This time God provided a lamb for the sacrifice for our sin, mine and yours. BUT – the Lamb that God provided was the perfect sacrifice, good for all people for all time. No further sacrifice for sin will ever be needed again. This perfect, spotless Lamb necessary for the required sacrifice for our sin was none other than God’s own Son, Jesus. We read in John –

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ ” (John 1:29)

Abraham told his son, “God Himself will provide the lamb”, and God has provided the lamb, His own Lamb, His one and only Lamb, to be the sacrifice for my sin, the only acceptable sacrifice for my sin. His name is Jesus. This is why Jesus’s birth is worthy of celebration – we rejoice that God has at last provided the Lamb who is able to pay our sin price in full, allowing us to be reconciled to our Creator God.

“just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28)

Abraham experienced God’s perfect provision for his need at just the right time, which saved Isaac’s life in God’s perfect timing. Likewise, God’s provision of Jesus to all of humankind, to you and to me, is also in God’s perfect timing and saves our lives from an otherwise certain and eternal death.

“But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5)

“God sent His Son, born of a woman . . .” – that’s what we are celebrating at Christmas – God’s provision of His Lamb for the atonement of our sin! The best gift ever! That’s the Good News of Advent – God Himself has provided the Lamb!

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)

God provided the sacrifice for Abraham. God has also provided the sacrifice for my sin and for your sin, dear readers. That’s the Good News – the Atonement of Advent. The angel proclaimed this news to the shepherds saying –

” ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.’ ” (Luke 2:10-14)

I needed a Savior and God provided One for me – His One and only Son, Jesus! The angel confirmed this to Joseph saying –

“She (Mary) will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)

The Atonement of Advent – the sacrificial Lamb of God – who in a breath-taking plot twist is also the King of Kings and Lord of Lords –

“that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)

Abraham’s Advent experience is my Advent experience today – the Lord has provided the necessary sacrifice for my sin. Thank You Heavenly Father for Your provision, the birth of Your Son, Jesus.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

sincerely, Grace Day

believing God for the unbelievable

Posted on by Grace Day

Abraham did. I want to do that too. But it’s hard – really hard sometimes. My problem is (well, ok I have lots of them, “them” being problems) but pertaining to this issue my problem is that I am walking/living by sight even though God’s word is clear – I am to walk by faith. And my sight isn’t all that great anymore anyhow, so walking by faith makes more sense than it ever has. BUT – walking by faith takes guts. Walking by faith takes unwavering courage when everything around you demands that you doubt what God has told you in His living Word to believe.

Such was the situation for Abraham. God called Abraham and made him a fantastical (is that a word?) promise. God asked Abraham to believe the unbelievable.

the call? –

“The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.’ ” (Genesis 12:1)

the promise? –

“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2-3)

the problem? –

“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?’ And Abram said, ‘You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.’ ” (Genesis 15:2-3)

You see the problem now, don’t you, dear readers? Abraham didn’t have any children. He had only one wife, Sarah, (in those days men often had multiple wives) and she was barren, which is to say, infertile. So they had no children and now they were both old, way beyond the childbearing years. And yet God had the audacity to tell Abraham this –

the promise repeated –

“Then the word of the Lord came to him: ‘This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.’ He (God) took him (Abraham) outside and said, ‘Look up at the heavens and count the stars – if indeed you can count them.’ Then He said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ ” (Genesis 15:4-5)

Just imagine it – a childless old man, Abraham, with an old and barren wife, being told that he was going to have a biological child with his wife and not only that (as if one child wouldn’t be miracle enough) BUT – also, his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky, which are too numerous to count! Unlikely? Unrealistic? Unbelievable? And yet Abraham believed God! Abraham believed despite the reality of his current circumstances. Abraham believed God for the unbelievable. How do I know this? I read Abraham’s response to God in Genesis 15:6 –

“Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.”

Abraham believed God for the unbelievable! And time went by. Still no children. Abraham was now ninety-nine years old. Things don’t seem to be moving in the right direction if his descendants are to be as numerous as the stars. BUT – God is faithful to fulfill His promises!

God’s covenant confirmed –

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty, walk before Me and be blameless. I will confirm My covenant between Me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.’ Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, ‘As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.’ ” (Genesis 17:1-6)

What must Abraham have thought about God’s promise to make him “very fruitful” even though he and Sarah continued to remain childless? It just didn’t seem possible. And yet –

“God also said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.’ ” (Genesis 17:15-16)

Abraham doubts –

“Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, ‘Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?’ ” (Genesis 17:17)

God reassures –

“Then God said, ‘Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.’ ” (Genesis 17:19)

And so it happened just as God had promised –

“Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him.” (Genesis 21:1-3)

So, mission accomplished, right? Well, their son was a miraculous gift from God. However, one child seems like a long way off from the promise of descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. Still, Abraham believed God even when his faith was put to another test only a few years later. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. God was testing Abraham’s trust and obedience. God’s request made no sense, given that Abraham’s descendants were supposed to be “as numerous as the stars” and Isaac was Abraham’s one and only descendant at this time.

But Abraham obeyed God and headed up the mountain with Isaac and wood for the fire. Abraham believed God in spite of his current situation and obeyed God’s instructions for the sacrifice of his only son, Isaac. It was then that an angel of the Lord intervened saying –

” ‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ he said. ‘Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son.’ ” (Genesis 22:12)

then God repeats His promise to Abraham –

” ‘I swear by Myself,’ declares the Lord, ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me.’ ” (Genesis 22:

Abraham had God’s promise. He believed God for the unbelievable – descendants as numerous as the stars and the grains of sand even though he had only one child with Sarah, Isaac. One would think having many children would predict a better fulfillment of God’s promise, but Abraham trusted God to do the impossible. Fast forward several generations later – Isaac had twin sons, Essau and Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons and they all had families – Abraham’s descendants are increasing. They all ended up in Egypt because of a famine and we read this about them in Exodus –

“The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all;” – that’s when they arrived in Egypt. Next we read – “Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, but the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.” (Genesis 1:5,7)

The increasing numbers of Abraham’s descendants caused the current king of Egypt to fear them and so he enslaved them, oppressing them with forced labor. But Exodus 1:12-13 tells us what happened to the Israelites during the time they were slaves in Egypt.

“But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly.”

It looks like God’s promise to Abraham is coming true. Abraham’s descendants are becoming more numerous, even when conditions are less than good for them under Egyptian rule. The Israelites, Abraham’s descendants, would eventually leave Egypt, only to wander in the desert for forty years, before settling in their homeland. The number of Abraham’s descendants continued to increase through wars, through exile to Babylon, to the time of Christ’s birth and continues to grow to this day. God is still fulfilling His original promise to Abraham today.

Remember that God told Abraham – “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”? Well, that part of the promise was realized when Jesus, the Messiah, the Savior of the world was born. Jesus was born through Abraham’s line of descendants. That’s what God meant when He told Abraham that all people would be blessed through him. Through Abraham’s descendants, God’s blessing of a Redeemer for all mankind came.

I’m glad a childless old man, with an old and barren wife, believed God for the unbelievable – that his descendants would be too numerous to count and that all nations would be blessed because of him. Abraham not only believed BUT – “So Abram left, as the Lord had told him;” – he left his country, his people, his father’s household and followed God.

I don’t know about you, dear readers, but I want to believe God for the unbelievable things in my life that will happen when I, like Abraham, believe God for the unbelievable and take the action that God calls me to take. God’s call to Abraham was clear.

“Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1)

God’s call to me is no less clear today. I just need to turn the volume down on everything else, listen and respond. The number of Abraham’s descendants is continuing to grow larger day by day in fulfillment of God’s original promise to him. You and I have the opportunity to be part of that promise as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the grains of sand on the beach, because we know –

“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:29)

You and I are God’s heirs! We can believe God for the unbelievable! Like Abraham, I will not believe in my circumstances determining the outcome. I will believe instead in God’s promises, which are always true!

“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)

sincerely, Grace Day