Genesis 18
When I started reading through the Bible one chapter each day, asking God to show me His purpose in each chapter, this was the first chapter for which I posted my insights online about three years ago:
Reading a chapter a day in the Bible - today was Genesis 18. How often does God call me to something that seems so impossible that I laugh it off? (like, say, writing novels...)
This chapter has at least two key lessons for us. The first is God’s sovereignty and omniscience. God is able to do more than we could ever imagine, including allowing a couple nearing a hundred years old to bear a child. He also knows even our most private thoughts. He knows when we scoff at His promises or when we harbor bitterness toward others. And if we try to say, “No, I didn’t really —,” He will call us on it.
The second lesson is in regard to His judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah. His judgment is not based on hearsay, but on his perfect knowledge of every heart in the city. His mercy tempers that judgment, offering grace if even ten righteous people might be found. His patience with us as we seek to understand and know Him better, is infinite, even when our questions are sincere but pointed.
God’s ways are higher than our ways, and there is so much about God that we will probably never fully understand — if our finite minds could fully understand, He would cease to be an infinite God. The fact that He desires for us to know Him more, desires to share His purpose and His plans with us, desires for us to join Him in the work that ultimately He alone is doing — what an incredible gift!
What work is God inviting you to join Him in today?
What grace is He extending to you and how can you mirror that grace toward others in your life?
What has God called you to do that seems laughable? Trust Him and do it anyway!
When I started reading through the Bible one chapter each day, asking God to show me His purpose in each chapter, this was the first chapter for which I posted my insights online about three years ago:
Reading a chapter a day in the Bible - today was Genesis 18. How often does God call me to something that seems so impossible that I laugh it off? (like, say, writing novels...)
This chapter has at least two key lessons for us. The first is God’s sovereignty and omniscience. God is able to do more than we could ever imagine, including allowing a couple nearing a hundred years old to bear a child. He also knows even our most private thoughts. He knows when we scoff at His promises or when we harbor bitterness toward others. And if we try to say, “No, I didn’t really —,” He will call us on it.
The second lesson is in regard to His judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah. His judgment is not based on hearsay, but on his perfect knowledge of every heart in the city. His mercy tempers that judgment, offering grace if even ten righteous people might be found. His patience with us as we seek to understand and know Him better, is infinite, even when our questions are sincere but pointed.
God’s ways are higher than our ways, and there is so much about God that we will probably never fully understand — if our finite minds could fully understand, He would cease to be an infinite God. The fact that He desires for us to know Him more, desires to share His purpose and His plans with us, desires for us to join Him in the work that ultimately He alone is doing — what an incredible gift!
What work is God inviting you to join Him in today?
What grace is He extending to you and how can you mirror that grace toward others in your life?
What has God called you to do that seems laughable? Trust Him and do it anyway!
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