Good Morning Friends,
Well I am back from a road trip… car camping vacation to help family up north and to hike the gorges east of the Mississippi and the battle fields of the Revolutionary War. And here it is the 4th of July Independence Day Holiday and I am writing a devotional based on the lectionary for the day and so I am reengaging in a routine long established. And while the nature of the day might prompt us to offer a prayer related to our dependence on God, the price of freedom or how we might extend peace to others, the text leads us in a different direction. Both the lectionary scripture from Matthew and from the book of Genesis show us examples of God providing more that we might imagine but also something troubling. And so, I wonder, Why We Ask For Less Than God Is Willing To Provide?
Scripture: After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.” Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together. When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.So Abraham called that place “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, “By myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies, and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.” So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham lived at Beer-sheba.
Genesis 22:1b-19 (NRSV)
And after getting into a boat he crossed the sea and came to his own town. And just then some people were carrying a paralyzed man lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” Then some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” —he then said to the paralytic—’stand up, take your bed and go to your home.” And he stood up and went to his home. When the crowds saw it, they were filled with awe, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to human beings.
Matthew 9:1-8 (NRSV)
Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NRSV)
Message: God puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we will not settle for less, but too often we do. And I wonder why this is and then I realize that at some level I understand that innovation has challenges. Cruise control has its limits. Emotions cloud our thinking in the life of new things. And let’s face it, technology creates new problems such as the war between my computer and my printer and my sanity. But somehow calamities can lead to advances. A tree in the road blocking our way leads to an adventure. You see, inventions benefit from tragedies. Penicillin was mass produced because of war. Dislocation and going into something else can have a stimulating effect. Creative things happen from problems. Perhaps we need to take a positive view of what unintended consequences can do for us. Sometimes we become anxious in facing those times when the Lord puts us into a situation where we cannot see the answer and our only option is to rely on God or an IT Guru for the solution. We have learned that trying to resolve the dilemma on our own only makes the matter worse. No Murphy’s Law is not a real law but there does seem to be a conservation of complications. We see this challenge in the story of the Lord providing a ram for Abraham in a time a testing and in the story of Jesus being tested as well in his own home town. The beauty is that if we are always seeking the best from God, especially in challenging situations, we tend to also have a new and fresh encounter with God. Interestingly, historically the greatest innovations come out of times of difficulty. So, for Christians the message is that we are to look at unintended consequences as an opportunity for an even better innovation. And that means one thing intellectually and then another emotionally and spiritually for we must walk with sincerity, honesty, holiness, and integrity of a relationship with God if we want to receive what God is willing to provide.
And So, if we want the best of God we need to give our best as well, especially in those situations that are most challenging. Listen, God always is persistent with his promise to give us the best, but we are not able to achieve it because many times we are satisfied with what we have instead of really learning from the intended consequences of life such as loss and failure. Perhaps you have dreams you have lost. Perhaps you think you are a failure. Think again. We need to get better at learning how to innovate with God. Remember God wants to give us success but brilliant ideas without God fall apart. Remember that Jesus promises that we will do greater things than He did. And that friends requires a great faith and prayer that wants everything that God can give us, but not for our glory but for God’s. For in the end chaos happens and we need God by our side if we are to have hope of getting better at using it. The paradox here is that we imagine that more options mean more freedom and so limitless freedom and more money is always the best option. The irony is that more money and more choices do not exactly make us happier. God’s idea of abundance is not the idea the world promotes. We begin to covet other people’s choices. And worshipping this god is exhausting and frustrating. The god of open options is a liar. He promises you that by keeping your options open, you can have everything and everyone. But in the end, you get nothing and no one. Friends, in the end to avoid exile and paralysis we must choose Jesus. And in doing that we realize true abundance does not come from greed but from being generous ourselves in relationship with God’s love.
Pray we
change our thinking and believe we can do all things though Jesus who gives us strength. Pray we believe that God has a plan for our welfare and a future with hope. Pray we remain steadfast in a time of testing believing we will always be loved. Pray we believe that because God gave us his Son for us that we should believe that this grace would extend to all things we might need. Pray we believe that when we are called to God’s purpose and we love God, all things will work together for good. Pray we not compromise our life’s calling. Pray we do not think the best is behind us but that it is yet to come, and that God will fulfill it for us. Pray we remember that God is persistent in giving the best for us and we need to respond with our best.
Pray we be careful in our decision-making so that it reflects our values and glorifies what is good. Pray the bigger the decision the more careful we become. Pray we have a victorious faith. Pray we realize that Jesus has the authority to help us to decide. Pray we not be paralyzed by choices. Pray we mature in our faith. Pray we not worship the god of options. Pray we realize that we need a redeemer. Pray we realize that worshipping Jesus is the only way to true freedom. Pray we advocate for the oppressed so that they might join in the fellowship of following Jesus.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 