Your Mess is No Trouble for God
I will start a four-week series about Abram (Abraham) and Sarai (Sarah) today. This series is about God’s faithfulness to us, even when we make mistakes or struggle with faith in His promises. I’ll also underscore the importance of trust, patience, and prophetic fulfillment in this series.
This faith-filled couple would impact all our lives, yet they were less than perfect. In fact, they created some “mess” along the way!
Have you ever made a mess of things? Perhaps taken things into your own hands to bring about God’s promise? After all, God sometimes needs our help, right?! Of course not, but our human nature often thinks so.
Aren’t you glad God is faithful, even when we are not?
Paul wrote to Timothy:
If we are faithless, He remains faithful [true to His word and His righteous character], for He cannot deny Himself. 2 Tim. 2:13 AMP
If you take nothing else away from today’s article, understand that your mess is no trouble for God! He is our loving Father who works all things together for the good of those who love Him.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Rom. 8:28 NIV
Always remember, though promises are delayed, trust God for their fulfillment. God encounters us with His love and grace in moments of our greatest need.
Abram & Sarai’s Journey Begins (Gen. 11:27-32, 12:1-5)
In Genesis 11, Abram’s father, Terah, takes Abram, Sarai, and other family members to Haran. They are on their way to Canaan. However, they stay in Haran for a while, and Terah dies there. This passage states that Sarai is barren and has no children.
In Genesis 12, God tells Abram to leave his country, family, and father’s house for a land God would show him. God promised to make Abram a great nation and bless all the families of the earth through him.
But keep in mind that Sarai is barren. The scripture makes this absolutely clear—barren, no child. This is serious in Middle Eastern culture. Heirs and generations are essential. Further, how will the promise of a great nation occur with no children or natural heirs of Abram and Sarai?
Notice also that something generational is occurring. Abram’s father, Terah, is leaving for the land of Canaan but dies along the way. There is no mention of the Lord’s leading, but God was leading him and his family because of the promise to Abram in Genesis 12.
In Genesis 12, the Lord tells Abram directly to go to the land of Canaan. He will make Abram a great nation there, implying children and heirs. But again, Sarai is barren.
How would all the families of the earth be blessed? Through the seed, or spiritual offspring, of Abram:
Paul writes:
And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Gal. 3:29 NKJV
Paul also wrote in Rom. 8:15-17 how we are adopted children, heirs of God, and co-heirs with Christ. Heirs according to God’s promise to and through Abraham.
In Galatians 3, Paul elaborates that the promise was not to all the descendants of Abraham by lineage or through adherence to the law but was fulfilled in Christ by grace for those who believe. Paul contrasts Spirit and faith versus the flesh and Law. He states that if you believe the gospel, you are already a child of Abraham!
6 In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” 7 The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God. 8 What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith. Gal. 3:6-9 NLT
When the Lord spoke this promise of blessing to Abram, he thought of YOU! Even then, He knew you; He was beginning to put your promises in motion.
A trip to Egypt! Gen. 12:10-20
There is a famine in Canaan. It’s an actual situation. Abram is concerned and perhaps worried about his family’s survival. He decides to go to Egypt to bypass the famine. But there is no mention of God telling him to go.
Was it the Lord’s will? I believe so, His permissive will.
God is sovereign and has given humanity free will to make choices in His sovereignty. Yet, God already knows what we will do before we act. It is hard for us to comprehend fully, but He is eternal and outside of time as we know it.
As a follower of Christ, you have the mind of Christ and witness of the Spirit. Proceed on matters unless you receive a word from the Lord or a check in the Spirit.
You may not always get a clear and direct word from the Lord on all matters, such as taking a new job, buying a new house, or relocating across the country. Sure, on big matters, believe and press in to hear what God is speaking. But keep in mind that He sometimes guides us by His peace and even trusts us to make good decisions.
There are also times when God is silent. In Matthew 15, a woman of Canaan comes to Jesus, crying out to Him to have mercy on her, for her daughter is demonized. She calls Him the “Son of David.” A messianic title given to Jesus as the Son of God and Jewish Messiah.
But “Jesus did not answer a word.” Matt. 15:23a. Despite Jesus ignoring her and the disciples asking Him to send her away, she presses in. He eventually tells her that He is only called to the house of Israel, and it’s not right to take from the children’s bread (Israel) and throw it to dogs (Gentiles). Rather than being offended, she tells Him even the dogs can eat the crumbs.
He then exclaims, “Woman, great is your faith! Your daughter is healed!”
Did she have great faith because she was persistent?
I believe He said she had great faith because she understood that the promise to Abraham and then to Israel was for the Gentiles, too! All families of the earth will be blessed through Abraham and Israel!
Understand that Jesus’ silences are as profound as His words. They may be a sign of His approval, not His disapproval. They may indicate deep purpose and blessing for you. Don’t fear His silence; instead, draw nearer!
But Abram is concerned that because Sarai is beautiful and his wife, they will kill him and let her live. This is hard to understand in our modern culture, but it did occur in the ancient world. So, he devises a plan: “Tell them you are my sister.” This is partially true, for Gen. 20:12 tells us she is his half-sister.
She is then brought into Pharoah’s house. And Pharoah, in exchange, blessed Abram with livestock and male and female servants (Gen. 12:16). But the Lord plagues Pharoah’s home because of Sarai. Pharoah sends them away with all he has given them, including the servants. Abram is now wealthy, according to Gen. 13:2
Did Abram make a mess of things? Yes! Did God work through the mess? Yes! Remember, God works all things together for the good (Rom. 8:28).
Your mess is no trouble for God!
With God, our mistakes can be opportunities! Trust Him, and lean not on your understanding, but acknowledge Him in all your ways! (Prov. 3:5-6)
God’s Promise Reaffirmed with Abram Gen. 15:1-6
In Genesis 15, God reaffirms His promises to Abram and establishes what is known as the Abrahamic covenant with him (the Abrahamic Covenant is part of the Old Testament model for the New Covenant in Jesus Christ).
But Abram argues with God, “Look, you have given me no offspring!” “Lord, a servant in my household is my heir!” Abram ignores God’s promise and looks into the natural realm, seeking a “human plan” to bring about God’s promise.
Circumstances and delays often cause us to doubt God’s promise. Abram, like going to Egypt in Gen. 12, comes up with a plan until God speaks. Then Abram believes God! Or does he? According to God, Abram does.
And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith. Gen. 15:6 NLT
But does this mean Abram is perfect? No! Yet he was counted as righteous because of His faith and even called a friend of God.
21 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. James 2:21-23 NLT
Why? His faith was demonstrated through both his beliefs and works.
Paul twice quotes this, Rom. 4:3; Gal. 3:6, and in James once, Jam. 2:23. It is the basis for the New Testament teaching that God’s way has always been by faith, as we obediently trust His word, which causes right living.
Again, was Abram’s faith perfect? No! But God, who sees the end from the beginning, saw Abram as a man of faith and his faith as perfected because of God’s grace! This should give you and me great hope and confidence.
Like Abraham, we aren’t perfect. Our faith in Christ and His saving work on the cross puts us in the right standing with God. We will make mistakes in life, but through Jesus, our past and future sins and mistakes are taken care of!
Perhaps today, you find yourself like Abram and Sarai in a mess. God is at work! Trust Him, call out to Him! There is healing and restoration for our messes today! God works through all aspects of your life to accomplish His greater purposes.
