..like Abraham

How often do we look for answers on our own? We will regularly go before the Lord seeking guidance. Our problem, just as it was with Abraham, is our own impatience. Rather than waiting for God to make a way, we rest on our own understanding. We attempt to make our own way. We try to do everything ourselves. But as with Abraham, God is time and again faithful to forgive and even use our failures to bring glory to His name and to further His plan.

Imperfection

One of my favorite themes in Scripture is borne out in the latter half of the book of Genesis. I love the fact that throughout the Bible, God uses imperfect people to do great things. First, God calls Abraham to do His work. Abraham's shortcomings include impatience, short-sightedness, and deceitfulness. In addition, God also greatly uses Joseph. Joseph is revealed to be impetuous and prideful. This theme is very reassuring to me. God's power is revealed more completely through his use of the fallible and the flawed. If He wanted to, God could do His business exclusively through blinding lights and burning bushes. Instead, He has chosen to do a real miracle and use people like us to do his work.

The Faith of Noah

More thoughts from Genesis

The faith Noah's is staggering. First of all, he is building a boat of epic proportions on dry land and filling it with animals. If that isn't enough of a test, Gen 7:10 tells us that God had Noah enter the ark SEVEN days before the flood waters came. Imagine those first six days inside that ark with no rain. Imagine Noah's self doubt. Imagine the smell. Imagine the attitudes of those on the inside who had trusted Noah. Do you think they doubted or questioned Noah? Imagine the ridicule of those on the outside, standing on dry land. Do you think Noah could hear their laughter? But Noah stayed the course. He held firm. Faith? You'd better believe it.

The names have changed, but the story remains.

Thoughts from Genesis

The story of the fall of man is quite easy to identify with. It does a remarkable job of summing up in just a few words a story that would be retold for generations. Man (or woman) sees that which s/he cannot have. The fruit's forbidden nature is what makes it so enticing. Once the deed is done, the fruit is eaten, it is man's (or woman's) desire to have someone else join him in his guilty pleasure. When the deed is found out about, hiding is the first option. When hiding doesn't work anymore, it is man's (or woman's) inclination to blame other people, blame Satan, or even blame God.

This story has been retold through the ages. The names, the faces, and the forbidden fruits are different, but the story remains the same. Because of these facts, I am able to easily insert myself into it.