God’s Word is full of His promises and plans for His people. We don’t have to search very long to find a promise for all of us or a specific plan for a specific person and the details of how the plan worked out. In today’s reading, we learn about the objective that God had for Abram’s life.
Genesis 12:2-3
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
God had a specific plan for Abram. God shared the plan with Abram and promised to watch out for him. As Abram went forward, we learn that he was worshipping God and staying in relationship with Him. However, when Abram and Sarai went to Egypt, fear took over, and Abram quickly forgot that God was with him. Rather than trusting God, Abram took the situation into his own hands and decided to lie to the Pharaoh. The result was that the Pharaoh discovered the lie and kicked Abram and his entire entourage out of Egypt. The MacArthur Bible Commentary suggests that this must have looked bad to his servants and probably resulted in a loss of integrity for Abram.
After reading this passage, I began thinking about my life and my own walk with God. How many times has God made plans for me, but instead of waiting on Him, I walked ahead with my own “better ideas” of how things should go. How many times have I questioned whether God was going to come through for me and I decided I needed to take things into my own hands. What was the end result? Instead of following His perfect plan, I got in the way and ended up looking foolish and unfaithful.
In the second part of the reading today, we learn about another of God’s plans. In Matthew 4: 1-11, we learn about Jesus being in the desert. Jesus was fasting and seeking God before he began his ministry. The devil showed up and began to tempt Jesus. Where Abram failed, Jesus succeeded. During that 40 days, Jesus trusted God with His provision and protection. When the devil came and tempted him, Jesus knew God’s word he was able to resist the devil’s schemes. By remaining strong in who God created him to be, Jesus was able to fulfill God’s ultimate plan. If Jesus had fallen to temptation there in the desert, he would not have been able to go to the cross in order to save us.
How can I apply this to my life? I am not always successful at resisting temptation. There are times that I don’t rely on Him, I try to do things through my own strength and end up falling to temptation. During these times of sin, I am not following God’s perfect plan for my life. What am I ultimately missing out on?
I can’t help but think of:
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
How much further would I go by remembering this during everyday life? His ways are so much higher than my own. He only wants the best for me. His plan is perfect. If I trust in Him, my path will be made straight.
Heather has been talking with us about God’s plan for us for 2011. His plan is good and I don’t want to miss out on any part of it.
Heavenly Father, thank you for creating a plan specifically for me. You are so faithful to keep walking with me even when I am not at my best. I confess that I am prideful and stubborn sometimes when I should be trusting and following you. I don’t want to live in your permissive will for my life, I want to live out your perfect will for my life. I don’t want to get in your way anymore. Please open my ears to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and teach me to submit to your ways. I want to live like your Son, Jesus. Amen.
Hugs,
Lynnette
