"All In" Day 4

Hello Everyone,

So I decided that I would not be blogging over the weekends. I think life is busy for all of us over the weekends so I thought it best to have a 5 day/week study. I hope that everyone had a great weekend and a happy independence day. Did any of you go to the 30th Anniversary Banquet? It was amazing wasn't it? I really enjoyed myself and loved hearing about all that God is doing through Grace Christian Center.

Are you ready to read more of God's word with me today? Great! I had a hard time deciding where to study with you guys after the last chapter we read. We only have two days left to talk about the story of Abraham, so I decided to skip ahead to chapter 21 when Isaac is born. Let me recap the chapters between day 3 and today. God speaks to Abram again and reaffirms his promises. He reveals that Abram will have a son by Sarai his wife and that God wants Abram to enter into a covenant with him. God wanted Abram to circumcise himself and all the males in his household. This covenant is a sign of the faith relationship that Abram has with God. God changes Abram's name to Abraham and Sarai's name to Sarah.

Abraham's nephew Lot is rescued from Sodom before it is destroyed for its wickedness. In chapter 20 Abraham journeys to Gerar and tells the king Sarah is his sister again. You think he would have learned the first time! And that brings us to Chapter 21.

Take a moment and read Chapter 21 verses 1-21 on your own.

Genesis 21:1-2
Sarah finally conceives a child. It says here in the scripture that God did for Sarah as He had spoken and at the set time which He had spoken. I like how this promise happened in God's timing and not in Sarah and Abraham's timing. Too often we expect things to happen when we think we are ready for them to happen. God knows better. I honestly believe that God needed Abraham and Sarah to take care of the things that happened in chapters 17-20 of this book first. Abraham and Sarah had to make the same mistakes again and had to learn about God's justice before they were ready to have a child. God also needed them to enter into a covenant with them by obeying his orders concerning circumcision.

Genesis 21:3-4
In the first two verses we see that God did as he had promised at the time he promised. In these two verses (3-4) we see that Abraham did as he promised and when he promised as outlined in the covenant he entered with God. Abraham called his son Isaac as God told him and he circumcised his son on the 8th day of his life. This was all according to God's command. Abraham is being obedient to God here even as God is being faithful to Abraham.

Genesis 21:5-7
Abraham was how old when Isaac was born? You may want to reread these verses if you didn't notice it the first time. And why was Sarah laughing? Let me tell you--if this happens to anyone in our day I will be laughing too.

Genesis 21:9-11
Sarah is back to her jealous and untrusting ways. Isaac is at the age where he is being weaned. According to my bible notes Isaac may have been three or four years old at this time. I think Sarah may be feeling like her little baby is growing up and she may be thinking more about Isaac's future as a man for the first time. In these verses Sarah tells Abraham that she wants Hagar and her son sent away because she does not want Hagar's son to be heir with Isaac. I think this is simply jealousy and worry popping up again. I want to shout at Sarah, "Listen woman, God just gave you a child when you are nearly 100 years old and you still doubt that He will do what He has promised?!?"

Genesis 21:12-21
Just as I suspected God did not allow Hagar and Ishmael to be left out in the wilderness to die. God speaks to Hagar and promises that He will make a great nation out of Ishamael. God intervenes in their need and provides them with water so they will not perish out in the wilderness. The scripture says that God was with Ishmael as he grew.

This week I have wanted to study the story of Abraham with all of you so we can focus on obedience and integrity as Pastor Erik spoke about on Wednesday night. Do you see how God kept his promises when Abraham was obedient? Do you see that as Abraham entered into a covenant relationship with God that he remained obedient even after he was being blessed? This is a lesson for us today. You may have an idea that to be obedient to God means that God will be pleased with you and want to bless you. It is true that God will be pleased, but the point isn't the blessing. The point is to remain obedient both in the times that you are being blessed (as Abraham did when Isaac was born) and when you are waiting for the blessing (as Abraham did while waiting for Isaac ex. circumcising himself and his household). Sometimes we are not very patient people and we may want to give up on God's promises, but God hasn't changed since Abraham's day. God is still the same. Just like with Abraham, God wants to give you His blessings, but it's going to come at His perfect time. God expects your obedience as you wait on Him.

What about if you do not feel that you are the blessed, chosen one? Are you forgotten? Maybe you feel like you aren't the popular and rich person in your school, maybe you feel like you are the black sheep of your family. Do you feel that way sometimes? Maybe everyone else around you is being blessed and you feel lonely. Well, look at Ishmael. He wasn't the "popular" son. He wasn't the one that everyone was anticipating would be born. But did God forget him? No. God loved him just as much as Isaac. God was still with him in his need and he still blessed him and made him a great nation. So on days when you feel down and you think your voice isn't being heard--just remember that God hears you. He heard Ishmael in the wilderness and he hears you when you cry out in your own bedroom.

I pray you take time tonight to worship and talk to the Maker of Heaven and Earth, the Lover of Your Soul. He is waiting for you.
Until tomorrow--God Bless.