Even a Thread
“And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich” -Genesis 14:22-23, KJV
This passage speaks to me of Abram’s faith in God. He wanted his riches to come from the right Source. He wanted to receive the promise and the blessing God had for him, not what man could provide. Thus, Abram made an oath that he would not accept anything from Sodom, the symbol of worldliness. If it meant giving up all the riches the city had to offer – and eventually it did – still Abram would have none of it. His life required the genuine process in order to produce genuine results.
Abram forgot this, of course: he had a son through means God did not intend. The process was improper, and Abram’s son Ishmael had to be cut off from any inheritance. This breach has had effects even to the present day, as the descendants of Ishmael continue to attack the descendants of Isaac. But God provided a way to obtain the promise correctly: He allowed Abraham and Sarah to have a son of their own, the promised child Isaac.
The final act in this drama of the soul is Abraham and Isaac walking up Mount Moriah. God gave this son to Abraham, and now He requires him to be given back. It must have been heart-wrenching for Abraham, but he had learned his lesson: God raised up one son, and He can raise up another if He wants to. But I can’t deviate from His plan. I can’t make that mistake again. The promise is in His hands, and I’ll never get to it if I don’t follow Him. His genuine process produces the genuine promise.
Oh, life offers promises, all right – false promises. They seem to work for a little while, but they didn’t arrive by the right process. False promises are not capable of producing true results. We need the “Faithful and True” to guard our promises. That right process of God changing us will produce the right result.
What are some other effects of a right process? Are there other examples that help you when you’re in danger of forfeiting genuine process? Drop us a line in the comments.
I found it interesting how God asked Abraham to give his son Isiaac, the promised child to him… In ways its quite similar to the way ive seen God work in me, he will give me a promise, ill begin to see it come to pass then he’ll see if I still trust Him to bring it to pass by asking me to give it back.
It may not make sense, and it may not always be fun, but it is important to stay in Gods course as stated in Galatians 3:3″Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”… its saying that we cannot go through this life with our plan(the flesh), we have to go through it within God’s plan(the spirit).
That story shows why its so important to have a God idea not just a good idea. God gave us the promise in the first place, so its silly to think that we can figure out the process for the promise apart from God revealing it to us. Walk by faith and not sight I guess.