Ahh, Baggage!

I've often wondered how Abram and Sarai could have been so impatient.  They heard directly from God that He would cause their descendants to be more numerous than the dust particles of the earth.  Having heard directly from God, yet being barren, Sarai is sure the issue is with her.  After all, she isn't pregnant and she isn't getting any younger!  Ten years have passed since Abram & Sarai came to dwell in Canaan, since the promise of Genesis 13:  "I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.  Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you."

In their human thinking, Abram and Sarai just couldn't wrap their minds around the idea that their offspring would be as numerous as the dust of the earth.  How on earth could this happen if Sarai, at her age, remained barren?    Rather than patiently trusting in God's promise to give Abram and Sarai a son, Sarai takes matters into her own hands and gives over Hagar, her Egyptian maid, to stand in as a "surrogate."  Remember yesterday's reference to "baggage"?  Could it be that she was a part of Pharaoh's "get out of my land" peace offering (AKA the baggage Abram and Sarai carried out of Egypt following the fiasco of Abram's not-so-brilliant plan to have Sarai pose as his sister).  Hagar does indeed become a surrogate and winds up pregnant with Abram's son.  But Sarai, who planned this in the first place, becomes hostile toward Hagar and kicks her out of the house.  Why the hostility?  Personally, I can't imagine giving my husband permission to go sleep with someone...inviting another woman to share in intimate relations with my man.  At the root of this hostility must be regret, right?  And a whole lot of jealousy...both because the woman had slept with her husband but also because Hagar had gotten pregnant very easily, therefore making Hagar "more of a woman" in the eyes of those around them.  After all, Sarai had been married to Abram for years and was still barren.  Hagar's pregnancy pointed out that the problem of infertility was with Sarai.

What was Abram thinking?  Why didn't he stand up and act like a man, like the spiritual head of the household, reminding Sarai of God's promise to give them a son?  Where was he when Sarai opted to kick Hagar and his son out of the house (talk about a dead-beat dad)? I know hindsight is always 20/20.  How differently things would have turned out had Abram stood firmly upon God's promises!

What about Hagar?  Did she perish in the wilderness?  Quite the opposite, actually.  In Genesis 16: 7-12, we see the Lord's loving hand reach out to Hagar:
"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,  for the LORD has heard about your misery. This son of yours will be a wild one—free and untamed as a wild donkey! He will be against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live at odds with the rest of his brothers."


Hagar must have been a courageous woman...having been told to go back and submit to Sarai's authority. That took some serious willpower! It seems Hagar had faith that the God who found and cared for her in the wilderness would sustain her in the household she'd been kicked out of.  


I've heard it proposed that Ishmael's descendants become the enemies of the Jews, God's chosen people.  If that's true, think of the truckloads of baggage Abram and Sarai created...and not just for themselves!  Does today's conflict between the Arabs and the Jews have its roots in the "worldly" decisions Abram and Sarai made as they tried to help God out?  Our decisions have long-lasting consequences...for years and ofttimes generations to come.  Ahh, baggage...the more we take out of God's hands to carry ourselves, the more baggage we create.

Play The Movie All The Way To The End

Genesis 12:1-2 says:  Then the LORD told Abram, "Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you. I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others."  
If I'm reading this right, God means to take care of Abram and his family in the land that He shows to them. But, Abram doesn't trust God in the right now...a theme we see played out in Abram's life numerous times.  In Genesis 12:10, we are told that a famine came to the land where Abram had settled.  Rather than trusting God to take care of them in the right now, Abram takes things into his own hands and travels with his family out of the land he'd been shown and into the land of Egypt.  This is where things get really weird. Scripture tells us that Sarai (Abram's wife) was "a very beautiful woman."  (Genesis 12:11).  Abram fears that should the Egyptians find out this beautiful woman is his wife, they will have Abram killed.  So, Abram hatches a plan wherein Sarai poses as his sister.  We find out in Genesis 20:12 that this actually half true:  "Besides, she is my sister—we both have the same father, though different mothers—and I married her. "  I can almost hear the words, "Well...it is partly true." rolling through Abram's mind as he tries to justify and rationalize his plans.  But, a half-truth is still a whole lie!  The Egyptians are indeed taken with Sarai's beauty and she eventually is given to Pharaoh to be his wife.  What on earth was Abram thinking?  If he'd only stayed in the place God had led him.  If only he'd trusted God's promise.  If only he'd practiced patience.  In the short-term, this did play out well for Abram (vs. 16):  "Then Pharaoh gave Abram many gifts because of her—sheep, cattle, donkeys, male and female servants, and camels."  Perhaps this allowed Abram to continue thinking he'd made the right choice. How often does this same scenario play out in our own lives...thinking for the short-term, not allowing the movie in our minds to play all the way the end before making a decision.

Well, as do all such not-so-well-thought-out plans, this one ends up falling apart and creating baggage.  God sends great plagues to the house of Pharaoh because of Abram and Sarai.  I find it really interesting that Pharaoh discerns these plagues are directly connected to the "sister" lie.  With all that goes on in the daily life of a Pharaoh, how did he determine that Abram & Sarai were the source of the plague?  Did God speak to Pharaoh in order to protect the family line?  After all, this is the line of David and the lineage of Jesus Christ.  God needed to protect it.  The NKJV leads me to believe that Pharaoh and Sarai never consummated their marital relationship:  "Why did you say, 'She is my sister'? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way." (Genesis 12:19)  Here comes the baggage.  Remember all those gifts Pharaoh had given to Abram?  He had Abram, Sarai and all those gifts escorted out of his land.  More on that tomorrow...

Get To The Point!

In Romans 3:23, Paul writes "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  Reading through the book of Job, I'm having trouble lining this verse up with what's said about Job.  In chapter 1:1, the writer of Job says:  "This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil."  God himself points out Job's goodness.  In verse 8, the LORD asks Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job?  There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."  Satan argues that the only reason Job is upright and blameless is because he is under God's protection and blessing.  "but stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."  I wonder if Satan was surprised when God gave over everything Job had into Satan's hands (except Job himself).  Satan takes it as far as he possibly can and destroys everything Job could call his own - his possessions and his children.  Yet, "In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing."  (Job 1:22)


When God calls Satan on this in chapter 2, "There's no one quite like him [Job], is there - honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil?  He still has a firm grip on his integrity!  You tried to trick me into destroying him, but it didn't work."  Satan tries a different approach this time, saying, "A human would do anything to save his life.  But what do you think would happen if you reached down and took away his health?  He'd curse you to your face, that's what."  Surprisingly, God gives Satan permission to do whatever he'd like with Job, except take his life.  So Satan strikes Job with horrible boils all over his body.  In verse 8 of chapter 2, it says "Job was ulcers from head to foot.  They itched and oozed so badly that he took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself, then went and sat on a trash heap, among the ashes."  And then, even after his wife called him a fool and tried to persuade him to curse God, Job's response is: "You're talking like an empty-headed fool.  We take the good days from God - why not also the bad days?"  Not once did through all this did Job sin.  He said nothing against God.


How is this possible?  How can a mere mortal be upright and righteous in everything?


This divine drama plays out beyond what Job and his three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar can see.  In chapter 32, Job's "wise" friends finally shut up.  And Elihu takes up where they left off.  For FIVE chapters!  But in chapter 38, God takes center stage.  It's.  About.  Time.  I'm ready to be to the end...I'm tired of the back and forth.  I keep finding myself wondering why there are 37 chapters of human arguments...the back and forth of human wisdom.  Just get to the point already.  I want God's response.  Perhaps that's the whole point!  I wonder how often God wants me to get to the place of desiring His response alone?  I often read commentaries to discern what God's saying, seek the counsel of the saints, listen to common sense, or seek out circumstantial signs.  Granted, these are all things God uses to communicate with me.  But, how often do I simply listen for His still, small voice?  Hmmm...


And so, even though I'm not supposed to get there for two more days, and I started to read commentaries to answer my questions...today, I opted to read through to the end of the book of Job.  God lays it all out.  He holds nothing back.  I love Job's response:  "I'm convinced: You can do anything and everything.  Nothing and no one can upset your plans.  You asked, 'Who is this muddying the water, ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?' I admit it.  I was the one.  I babbled on about things far beyond me, made small talk about wonders way over my head.  You told me, 'Listen, and let me do the talking.  Let me answer the questions.  You give the answers.'  I admit I once lived by rumors of You; now I have it all firsthand - from my own eyes and ears!  I'm sorry -- forgive me.  I'll never do that again, I promise!  I'll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor."


So, God...I ask that you give me faith and steadfastness like Job.  Keep me in the place where my heart attitude is one of "You can do anything and everything.  Nothing and no one can upset your plans."  Help me to not second-guess Your purposes in my life.  Keep me from being like one of the four "friends" who tried to offer counsel...help me to be a friend who listens and points everything to You.  May my life be a reflection of Your glory...may I not try to keep any of it for myself...for it all belongs to You.  You alone are holy. You alone are worthy.  You alone are God.

I Know That My Redeemer Lives

Even amidst his immense pain and suffering, Job claims the promises of God.  In Job 19:25-27, he says: "But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought!"


May this be my stance in life...even when the chaos swirls around me...I know that my Redeemer lives.  He will stand upon the earth at last.  I will see God for myself one day...with my own eyes!  Ahhh, the thought of it brings immense joy to my very core.

Hard Times | Good People

Why does God allow bad things to happen to apparently good people?  In the first verse of the first chapter of the book of Job, we learn that Job was "...blameless, a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil."  Yet, God allows the most horrific of suffering to befall this blameless, upright man.  Why?  


I love the answer Ray Stedman gives in his commentary, Job, the Hardest Question:  "Now, the ultimate answer to that question is given right at the beginning of the book [of Job]. At the opening we are handed certain program notes that explain to us something about the drama, something which even the actors themselves are not permitted to know. The answer given is that senseless suffering arises out of Satan's continual challenge to the government of God."


Ahhh, yes, the very real enemy that prowls around like a hungry lion, looking for a victim to devour (1 Peter 5:8).  It is so easy to think only in terms of the world we can see.  We often forget the unseen realm...where war is raging for the souls of man...for my soul...and yours.  If we were given the ability to see the enemy in all his terrifying and grotesque ugliness, we'd run for our lives.  He wants nothing more than to rip us to shreds, tear us down to nothing, render us completely and utterly defenseless.  He operates out of blind stupidity...forgetting the power...pushing the thought of it to the very deepest, darkest recesses of his mind...pretending he has the power to overcome.  He's never been more wrong about anything in his entire existence.  Jesus' blood and righteousness flows down from that cross to cover the believer, washing us clean and giving us the ability to stand on the rock of Jesus Christ himself...the ability and power to rebuke the enemy and his minions...to send them wherever Jesus deems appropriate.  And so, today, I claim the promises of Jesus in my life.  I venture out into the life He has created for me, though at times it seems fraught with pain and suffering.  With open arms, I embrace the blessings of walking in the light and beauty of His love for me.  Thank you God for loving me.

Whirling Why's

Do you ever find yourself drowning in a personal sea of "why's"?

• Why...?
• Why are my friends unable to have children?  
• Why did God allow me to get pregnant, only to then allow a miscarriage?  THREE times...and on that third time, taking away half of my fertility; then, a year later, steals away the other half, rendering me completely unable to have another child?  
• Why did she have to die, leaving behind 4 little kids?
• Why does my friend have cancer?  
• Why? Why? Why?

If anyone had the right to ask the tough why questions, it was Job.  The man lost every single, solitary thing to his name.  Every possession.  ALL of his children. And, to top it all off, God gave Satan permission to torment him with the physical pain of boils covering his entire body.  WHY?

Wish I had an answer to all of these tough questions.  Yet, I've come to realize God is so much greater than I could ever come close to understanding.  There are things that are just going to have to wait until heaven...and perhaps when the time comes, the questions will no longer matter.  For now, when the storms of life swirl around me; when the "whys" come, I must stand on the foundation of God's word.  The truth that God loves me.  The truth of Romans 8:28 (NLT), that God "causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them."  I must be able to collapse into these foundational, undergirding truths when things around me seem to be falling apart, outside of my control, beyond my understanding.  I must be able to fall back onto what I do understand.  And I understand this:  God LOVES me!  I may not understand the why and how of it all...but I know it is true.  I also know that what I can see of things is very small in comparison with the eternal perspective God possesses.  He can see the end and the beginning of all things, all at the same time.  He knows all and sees all...including my little life and all that's happening in it.  My life rests securely in the palm of His hand.  And, I am perfectly content to stay right there!

Through Thick & Thin

Friendship...what a blessed gift.  My life is peppered with many, many such gifts and I thank God for each one.

As I continue on in the book of Job and read what his friends have to say about Job's intense response to his horrific circumstances, I've come face-to-face with a trouble spot in my life.  I must admit, I struggle with being a "through thick and thin" kind of friend.  It's easy to be someone's friend when everything is all as it should be.  But what about the true majority of time - when things aren't all rosy and wonderful?  How does one approach a friend in turmoil and speak truth to them, without hurting feelings or injuring them on a heart level?  I absolutely despise conflict in any form.  I shrink from it.  I avoid it all cost.  But, what am I to do when my friend's in trouble and I see something in their life that needs to change...perhaps a blind spot that needs to be brought to light?  How can I avoid being fickle?  How can I be the very opposite of Job's description of his friends at the end of chapter six?

Job 6:14-30 (The Message)

"When desperate people give up on God Almighty, their friends, at least, should stick with them. But my brothers are fickle as a gulch in the desert--one day they're gushing with water from melting ice and snow cascading out of the mountains, but by midsummer they're dry, gullies baked dry in the sun.  Travelers who spot them and go out of their way for a drink end up in a waterless gulch and die of thirst.  Merchant caravans from Tema see them and expect water, tourists from Sheba hope for a cool drink.  They arrive so confident—but what a disappointment!  They get there, and their faces fall! And you, my so-called friends, are no better—there's nothing to you! One look at a hard scene and you shrink in fear.  It's not as though I asked you for anything—I didn't ask you for one red cent—nor did I beg you to go out on a limb for me.  So why all this dodging and shuffling? Confront me with the truth and I'll shut up, show me where I've gone off the track.  Honest words never hurt anyone, but what's the point of all this pious bluster?  You pretend to tell me what's wrong with my life, but treat my words of anguish as so much hot air.  Are people mere things to you? Are friends just items of profit and loss? Look me in the eyes!  Do you think I'd lie to your face?  Think it over—no double-talk! Think carefully—my integrity is on the line! Can you detect anything false in what I say? Don't you trust me to discern good from evil?"

I desire to be a source of life for my friends...a haven of rest...a place where honest, truthful, Biblical feedback is spoken in love.  Lord, I pray that you will make this true of me.