God's Pans

Isaiah 55:8-9 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” NKJV

I love the Old Testament stories because they reveal God’s character and how He works with people. There are many stories that illustrate the above verse that God does not operate anything like we do.  However, today I want to look at the story of Abraham and draw out some important life principles.

We know that God called Abraham to leave his country, family, friends, lifestyle and go to a land he knew not. He called Abraham to move from the known to the unknown, from a place of security to a place that was not secure. Upon God’s word Abraham makes this total illogical move. God then gives and outrageous promise to  Abraham that his descendents would be as numerous as the stars in the heaven and sand on the sea shore, that all of Canaan would be his, and that his descendents would be a blessing to all the earth. When Abraham receives this promise, he is a nomad in a strange land, owns no property, and to stack the odds against him, his wife is barren. God’s ways are not our ways!

Part of the key of Abraham’s and Sarah’s ability to believe God’s promises and follow God’s plan against insurmountable odds is in Hebrews 11:11-12. “By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude — innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.” NKJV

Abraham and Sarah judged or counted Him faithful who had promised. The focus is not on the promise or the plan, but on God's faithfulness. God’s promise or plan is like a mountain. From the distance it looks like a single mountain. But as you journey closer you find it is a series of hills and valleys leading to the mountain. Because the timing of the promise or the way it is fulfilled is different than we expected, we can become disillusioned, discouraged and give up. It is like you have climbed over several hills and gone through several valleys, and you come to the top of another hill. There is another valley, and you seem no closer to the peak of the mountain than you were before. In fact, the closer you get to the peak, the bigger are the hills and valleys are. We become so focused on the destination or the promise that we fail to enjoy the journey with God.

The second thing is God’s promise or plan is much greater than each of us. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph were each part of the fulfillment of God’s promise and plan. Upon this journey to God’s promise, God has people on the way on those hills and in those valleys that he has ordained to be part of our journey. They are part of God’s plan, and they hold keys to the promise. When we become so bent on reaching the peak, we fail to take the time to engage the very people God has ordained on the journey.

Like Abraham, though the promise of the peak of the mountain may challenge and inspire us, the joy of the journey is our walk with God and those God brings into our life. With every hill and valley that you walk through and arriving at the peak, the joy is looking back on the faithfulness of God through the journey. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.”

Andy