1.7.8 "What are You Laughing At?"

"What are You Laughing At?"

Genesis 16:1-18:19
Matthew 6:1-24
Psalm 7:1-17
Proverbs 2:1-5

God has a plan for your life. On any given day, we are more or less aware of the fact that he has a plan, not to mention our understanding or lack thereof of the specifics of it. Why is that? Why don't we see more of God's plan? Is it because of Him, or because of us?

The story of Abraham & Sarah is a "great read". I would love to have met these two. They seem to be very interesting people. At the beginning of Chapter 16 of Genesis, their names are still Abram & Sarai. In chapter 17 their names are changed to Abraham (meaning "father of nations") and Sarah (Meaning "princess")

Abram knows God has given him a promise. When he was 75 years old, God told Abram to "go to the land I will guide you to. If you do, I will cause you to become the father of a great nation; I will bless you and make your name famous." (Genesis 12:1-2)

Abram is obedient. Sarai also knows the plan. She realizes though, that the clock is ticking. "We're not getting any younger Abram..." (not a verse, but I can hear it!) When Abram is 86 Sarai realizes that God must need a little help. (If this were the movie, the music would get more ominous here.)

Sarai's plan is this: "Since the Lord has given me no children... you may sleep with my servant girl, and her children shall be mine" And Abram agreed. When Hagar (the servant girl) realized she was pregnant, "she became very proud and arrogant toward her mistress Sarai. Then Sarai said to Abram, 'It's all your fault. For now this servant girl of mine despises me, though I myself gave her the privilege of being your wife. May the Lord judge you for doing this to me!'" (Can you see why the Lord changed her name to Princess???)

Sarai and Abram took God's plan into their own hands. They manipulated it. They tried to make it THEIR plan. Remember in yesterday's reading the warning about getting your own way? Well, read the account of Hagar in Gen.16:7-16. It's the birth of the Islamic nation... You can see the fruit of Ishmael motivating so much of the world today.

In chapter 17, God reiterates the promise in terms of a contract with Abraham & Sarah. He says, "'It is a contract that I shall be your God and the God of your posterity. And I will give all this land of Canaan to you and them, forever. And I will be your God. Your part of the contract,' God told him, 'is to obey its terms. You personally and all your posterity have this continual responsibility..." Gen. 17:8-10

That applies to our lives. Our job is simply to obey his direction whatever that may be. We want to know SO BAD what he has in store... what his plan is. The danger is, if we know too much, we too often take HIS plan into OUR hands and MESS IT UP. We try to manipulate God's will. In Gen 18:17 God says, "Should I hide my plan from Abraham?"

Now Abraham is 99 years old, and again the Lord reiterates the promise. When the Lord speaks to them this time, both Abraham and Sarah laugh (Gen.17:17; 18:12)

"Then God said to Abraham, 'Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say 'Can an old woman like me have a baby?' Is anything too hard for God?" (18:13-14)

So many times we hope for the promise that seems so impossible. We almost laugh because it can't be done. "Can God heal my marriage?" "Can God save my loved one?" What are you laughing at? What seems impossible?

Our part of the deal is to discipline ourselves to obedience. He is a faithful God. We need to position ourselves to receive from Him. We need to constrain ourselves to the center of His will as he reveals it to us, EVEN IF IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. We have to guard from beginning to manipulate the Plan into what WE think it should be. All we do is tie his hands from making HIS name great!

Be obedient today!



Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!

P Greg


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