Tag: Abraham

Don’t Go By What You See

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

“ Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling pieces in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know is partial and incomplete but then I will know everything completely just as God now knows me completely.”

1 Corinthians 13:12

Perspective is everything

Things are not always what they appear to be. You may think that you know the whole story and you have it all figured out but we only know from the standpoint of our own perspective. Perspective is everything in knowing the truth but our perspective is often blurred by our limited knowledge of the event or circumstance. How many times have we gotten ourselves in trouble because we read too much into a situation or made decisions based on our limited knowledge?

Have you ever walked into a room where two people are talking and they stop when they see you? You naturally think that that they are talking about you. However, the truth is, you really don’t know what they are talking about. It is likely that it may not be about you at all.

Whenever I counsel couples or families about relationships, I have to realize that I may hear each person’s side of the story according to their own perspective. This can be flawed or skewed especially if people are too concerned about being right and not being open minded about themselves. There are times when I sit there and hear one side and think that other person is obviously the problem. Then when I meet with them, I think no, the first person is the real issue. Im forming my opinions from the limited knowledge that I have according to what each person told me. I am not there in the home everyday to hear every conversation and to make a rational informed decision. Therefore, any type of counsel that I do give may also be skewed because of the perspective, that I have developed, based on the limited knowledge that I have of the situation. 

We don’t see the whole picture

I have to remember that things may not always be what they appear to be. This is definitely true as we walk out our faith and make decisions based on what we do know. Humans are limited in understanding by just what they hear, see and experience in the natural world. We don’t always see things from God’s perspective. God is omniscient—He knows all things and sees things for how they truly are. 1st Cor 13:12 says “ Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling pieces in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know is partial and imcomplete but then I will know everything completely just as God now knows me completely:.

Every aspect of ourselves is like one piece of a giant puzzle that represents our life. Every day, every thought and circumstance that we face is part of this puzzle. We may not know at that time what it represents. God sees the finished product. He sees whether that piece is an elbow or part of a tree limb or part of skyline. We won’t truly know until the puzzle is complete and we see the finished product for what it truly represents.

How many of us would made different decisions if we knew the big picture? How many of us would have held on just a little bit longer if we knew that reliefs just around the corner. How different things might be if only we saw things from God’s perspective.

God was already working

We are not the only ones who may have made different decisions if we saw things for what they really appeared to be.

To Abraham it appeared that his only option was to be obedient to God no matter what; even if it meant sacrificing his own son.  But what Abraham didn’t know was that things were not what they appeared because God was about to provide the sacrifice.

The Samaritan woman at the well thought that this was just a Jewish traveler asking for a drink of water. She had been married 5 times and experienced a lifetime of heartache and shame. She thought things could not change. Yet, things were not as they appeared because He was about ready to give her living water.  

The woman who was caught in the act of adultery knew she was destined for more shame and gossip about her sin. When they brought her out to be stoned to death she assumed that Jesus was going to do the same. However, things were not what they appeared because she was about ready to experience what true love really means.

Remember,  after the crucifixion it appeared that everything was lost. The disciples were clueless on what to do in what seemed like defeat. They were only reacting by what they knew and from their own perspective. How can this be what God had planned? Jesus was supposed to be the Messiah and now because of his death everything was lost. Yet they would find out three days later that things were not what they appeared to be. God had a bigger plan. Their pain and hardship and fear was soon to be over. They were about to discover what someday we all will discover- that sorrow may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning.

Hebrews 11 tell of this great cloud of witnesses that that endured all kinds of difficulties and hardships because they saw through the lens of faith and not their own flesh and blood. 

Remember, in Hebrews 13:2 it says,

Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!

We can’t begin to see things as they really are until we live our life according to the principle of walking by faith and not by sight.

The point is this

When you feel like your back is against the wall and you have run out of options. When you feel like giving up because perhaps God is too busy to hear your cries. When you feel that you can never change and the problems you are facing today will be the same ones you face tomorrow. Remember, that you see just a small piece of the puzzle which you view from your limited knowledge and your own worldview. God knows what the completed picture of your life looks like. He knew that in just three days the entire world would be changed. He knows that if you could see things the way He sees them, your life would change as well.

Let me give one example from Daniel 10. It shows what God was doing behind the scenes.

“On April 23,[b] as I was standing on the bank of the great Tigris River, 5 I looked up and saw a man dressed in linen clothing, with a belt of pure gold around his waist. 6 His body looked like a precious gem. His face flashed like lightning, and his eyes flamed like torches. His arms and feet shone like polished bronze, and his voice roared like a vast multitude of people. 7 Only I, Daniel, saw this vision. The men with me saw nothing, but they were suddenly terrified and ran away to hide.8 So I was left there all alone to see this amazing vision. My strength left me, my face grew deathly pale, and I felt very weak. 9 Then I heard the man speak, and when I heard the sound of his voice, I fainted and lay there with my face to the ground. 10 Just then a hand touched me and lifted me, still trembling, to my hands and knees. 11 And the man said to me, “Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you.” When he said this to me, I stood up, still trembling. 12 Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. 13 But for twenty-one days the spirit prince[c] of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels,[d]came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia.[e] 14 Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come.”

Things are not what they always appear to be. What you are going through and experiencing now is part of a bigger plan. When we walk by faith and not by what we see we begin to see things for how they really are. And ultimately we know that 1) God will cause all things for good for those who are in Christ Jesus and 2) He will be faithful to complete the work that He started in you. He started the work…. and He will complete it.

The Promise

Photo by Taryn Elliott on Pexels.com

So I’ve been reading the One Year Chronological Bible. When I say reading, what I really mean is that I’ve been listening to it. It seems that I can’t read anything anymore. I get too distracted and end up having to re-read it several times so I can get what I just read. I’ve been told that I have ADD but that’s a different story for a different day.

Anyways, back on track. I have read certain passages in the Bible, some of the them multiple times. There are instances that I can read a passage that I have read often and not get too much from it. Just being honest. Other times, I can read the verse(s) and know what the context means. However, there are those times that I read a familiar passage that something completely new comes alive in it. It’s like, ‘Wow! Why haven’t I ever seen that before”. Sometimes it is so deep that I can’t believe that it has never jumped out at me before.

That is what happened the other day when I was “reading” Genesis. It’s the story of Abraham and his two sons-Ishmael and Issac. If you remember the story Abraham and Sarah were very old when God told them that they were going to have a baby. They both thought it was impossible so they took matters into their own hands rather than wait on the promise of God. Long story short, Abraham did have a son but through Hagar, the Egyptian servant of his wife Sarah. They named the baby Ishmael. Years later, Sarah had her own baby that she named Isaac.

Now Abraham had many more children through his wives and concubines. But the promise that Abraham was going to be the “father of many nations” was through Isaac. Although he loved and valued all his children, he knew that Isaac was going to fulfill the promise that God gave to him. Obviously there was so much jealousy, bickering and other drama that took place between Sarah, Hagar and the others. All because they knew that Isaac had a special relationship with Abraham.

He sent them away

Now we are where I was getting to before. In Genesis 25:5-6, Abraham is on his death bed. Here is what it says:

Abraham gave everything he owned to his son Isaac. But before he died, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them off to a land in the east, away from Isaac.

He gave everything he owned to Isaac. This seems cruel that Isaac got everything that Abraham owned. Gee, dad, I know that Isaac is the “promised one” but, c’mon. However, it goes on to say that before he died, he gave gifts to his other sons. They were his sons too. He loved each of them in his own way. He spent time teaching them, loving them, watching them grow up to have their own families. He was like any good, attentive father with his children. Therefore, he gave gifts to them as well.

Yet the rest of the story is what jumped out at me. Abraham sent them off to a land in the east, away from Isaac. More cruelty? I dont think so. First of all, it must have been very hard to say goodbye to all of his sons and their families. Remember, he had relationships with all of them. Yet, God just had something special planned through Isaac. So he sent the other children off towards the east, not knowing if he would ever see them again.

Why did he do this? I think part of the answer comes in the last few words of the verse. He sent them off to a land in the east…away from Isaac. This jumped off the proverbial page at me. He sent them away from Isaac. Away from the promise. Away from whom God told him was going to be his future. He didnt want anything to get in the way between Isaac and the promise that God gave him. He sacrificed his relationship with everyone else for the sake of the promise of God.

There was already arguments and jealousies and backbiting that was going on between his family members. Imagine what could have happened if they stayed together. Remember, later on in the family line that Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. Some wanted to kill him. Talk about a toxic relationship. You think your family tree is crooked. Therefore, the wise thing seems to be to separate them to ensure that peace will remain and that the promise that God gave to him concerning Isaac would endure.

His promise to us

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Here is the application of this story. We cannot allow anything to get in the way of the promises that God has given us. There are a lot of things that are precious to us. A lot of things that we love and hold in value. There are things (some good, some bad) that we hold on to that are a part of our identity and that we cherish. However, we can not allow those things to interfere with what God has for us. He has a promise for us all. To love us unconditionally. To protect, provide, to give us a future and a hope. Yet there are times that we hold on to things that we think are important to us but is in direct contraction to the promise that He has for us.

Therefore, we need to remove those things away from our lives. We need to send those things “to the east” away from our “Isaac”, our promise. This is not easy to do. There may be heartache and reluctancy and fear. Yet, necessary in order to be in the place that God wants us to be. We need to rid ourselves of the “toxic relationship”of self talk, poor self image, painful memories, hopelessness and so on that wants to choke the life out of who we are in Him.

So there you go. Not too deep. There are so many other things that we can talk about concerning this situation but I just wanted to share what stood out to me as I was “reading”. I would appreciate your comments or thoughts, as well. Until then, remember to stand on those promises of God.