RTW January 5

20 Comments

1. Good morning all. This was my key verse today as well. What I see is how conversation with God changes my perspective. How conversation with God bringing my doubts to him invites a response. He will always remind me of his goodness and of his promises when I’m engaged with him. And I love Abrams honesty with God-his doubt. In 2017 i came before the lord with such raw honest frustration and even anger. Relationships with my sisters was at an all time low and I could not see how we would recover. And yet God‘s word for me that year was that he would restore my family relationships. So I came before him in November 2017 with doubt and a lot of questions and basically said “you’ve got your work cut out for you Lord. I don’t see how you’re going to pull this one off“ and his response was “daughter- The restoration has to begin with your heart. You can’t keep bringing your bitterness and unforgiveness into every interaction and expect anything to change“.

   Today I have and I am developing the most amazing relationships with my sisters -All because of honest conversation with God. I brought my doubt, anger, confusion – all of it to Him. And He made good in His promise. Like He always does.

   Something else I noticed in today’s reading – is that even after His amazing encounter with the Lord, Abram decided to take matters into his own hands and sleep with Hagar. And God remained faithful to His promise (even though things got a bit messy as a result). I do this – I keep trying to take control. Do what I think is best. Even after hearing from the Lord “this is the way, walk in it”. I still try to forge my own path.

   And finally – in 17:18 Abram basically tells God how he thinks it should go. “May Ishmael live under your special blessing”. How often do I try to tell god how I think things should go? Oh too often!!

   To do: Engage in conversations with God throughout the day. Listen to Him.

   1. Really appreciate all your comments. The personal testimony about restored family relationships is especially encouraging! My desire is to LISTEN to Him, also. I’ve gotten so caught up in the problems that they have become the focal point. My spirit longs for the days when I was able to be still before Him and actually HEAR Him.

   2. Mary thank you for you insights. I too saw how we think no way and God blows us away with His plans. So encouraged by what He is doing with you and your sisters! Remembering Ephesians 3:20!

2. I love Wendy’s question…..”What am I assuming that I should not be assuming?” I will be seriously taking this before the Lord for myself!

   Something Old
   Genesis 16:13. The God who sees me…..sees ALL of me. He not only saw Hagar’s plight and need and desperation…..He also saw that she had begun to “treat her mistress Sarai with contempt”. God is not a selective viewer. This may be uncomfortable, but it is for our ultimate good.

   Something New
   Genesis 15:7. I never noticed before the way this is phrased….”I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land.” Given the fact that a bit of research indicated that Ur was full of moon worshippers and pagans, it shed a different light on this verse. God did not simply move Abram from one place to another, but He brought him OUT of a negative place. There is great encouragement in this for me.

   Something To Do
   Genesis 15:8, “O Sovereign LORD, how can I be sure that you will give it to me?” (Wendy touched upon this.). My To Do is to be in a place with God that enables me to be unafraid to ask sincere, but reverent questions. What a special blessing.

   I also love the whole section dealing with the covenant and all the symbolism and meaning in Genesis 15:9-21. Hope someone comments on this!

3. Hi friends! Sorry this is a little long today.

   Sarai’s propsal to Abram that he sleep with Hagar. When we go ahead of God and try to handle matters in our own hands, it never works out well for anyone involved. 16:1-16
   Instead we are to patiently endure, patiently wait on the Lord and His plan for us, even when we don’t understand or don’t see a way. These women in the Bible so far, Eve and Sarai have caused much trouble by persuading their husbands to do what they wanted them to do, what they thought was right or best. I can easily sit here from my view and judge them, thinking why would these husbands go along with it rather than lead and make their own wise decisions? But how many times have I done this to my own husband? How many times have I tried to control him and control all things out of fear, doubt, confusion or uncertainty? It’s hard to admit, but God is showing me that I’ve done this for years, more times that I can count.
   Ephesians 5:22-24 is a great reminder:
   “Wives submit to your own husbands; as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.”

   10 years is a long time to wait patiently on God. Sarai couldn’t handle waiting. They were old and she decided to assume and take matters into her own hands. Then she got upset and blamed Abram saying “this is all your fault!”
   Oh the discord and drama. Abram’s reply as a frustrated man and husband- “Look, she is your servant, so deal with her as you see fit.” You can almost hear him thinking-Look, you got us into this mess with your big ideas. I went along with it because you are my wife, to make you happy, now things are a mess and went all wrong and your upset and blaming me?!
   Ok, well you deal with her and this mess.

   17:16 even after the mess Sarai made, God still blessed her anyway and gave her a son. He didn’t just bless her, it says He blessed her richly, making her the mother of many nations. A perfect example of God making beauty from ashes (her sin).

   I actually feel bad for Abram and also for my own husband for this terrible way that I’ve treated him similar to this kind of controlling attitude and disrespect.

   My to do is to assume nothing like Wendy and pray to really live Ephesians and pray to have a true submissive heart to God and to my husband. To respect him and serve him as my duty and not be a control freak about everything.

   1. Jlg… thanks so much for your honest comment…I can relate so much!! I am committed this year to pray every single day for my marriage and this was today’s prayer: (I have help…not my own words, but certainly my heart plea)
      Glorious Father, help me to submit to (insert your husband’s name) as to the Lord. Enable me to honor and respect him as my head, just as Christ is the head of the church. I recognize that I am not independent of my husband, so help me to rely on his guidance and care. Grant me the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, and teach me how to be a suitable helper to him. Let me be an excellent wife who is her husband’s joy and crown!

      1. I just prayed your prayer. I’ve had a rough time this past year in my marriage because I didn’t listen to my husband. I always had a better idea or way to accomplish things. God showed me the mess I was making and I had to ask for forgiveness. It’s amazing how things have changed it I have to keep remembering that I’m not in charge.

   2. I need to learn this lesson, too. To be more respectful in my marriage, and to submit to my husband’s ideas. More often than not, his way is usually the right way. To work at being a helper to him rather than an adversary.

4. In the beginning of today’s reading we see abram kind of freaking out a little. He doesn’t see how God is going to work things out in his present circumstance. I love that this is included because I feel this way at times. God is so loving and kind to reassure abram and lay out the covenant again for him.

   In Gen 16 Sarai talks abram into taking her maid as a wife to get a son. The note in verse 3 says 10 yrs have past. How often have I gotten tried of waiting on God and tried to help him out a little? If I’ve heard from God I need to remain focused and not ne swayed by others or my own impatience. Go to God for reassurance but not change the course he’s laid out for me. Nothing good comes from that!

5. ….for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction….
   God was patient in judgment, even with the wicked Canaanites….WOW!
   Lord, please help me to see people as you do!!!!!

   Sarah’s decision about Hagar forever changed the Middle East and her failing to wait on God has lead to centuries of war….where am I failing to trust God ????

6. Something to do
   Rest in the everlasting covenant “I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you.”

7. Do I believe before I receive or because I receive? Wow. This question is one that I really needed to ask myself today. I always believe in God, but it’s so easy to be that strong Christian girl with unshakeable faith when everything is going my way. When things are going wrong, that’s when I fall apart. Tears, questioning why me, etc. Abraham’s faith was so strong, regardless of his circumstances. My strongest desire for myself to continue to grow my faith to get to that level.

8. El Roi – The God who sees me. I so love this name and need its reminder. I often feel that I am not seen in my life due to my circumstances. I must always remember that God sees me.

   I loved Wendy’s questions today. I do make a lot of assumptions based on my current situation. I must seek God’s direction. I must listen and believe.

   Have a blessed day everyone!

9. So happy for Read Through The Word this year…
   Wendy’s lesson is powerful and all of your posts are beautiful….

   This year, 2019, my word is AWARENESS!
   A key in hearing the voice of God is “Be still and know that I am God..Psa. 46:10
   As I hear from God, may I trust and WAIT upon Him, and lean not unto my own understanding….in all my ways may I acknowledge Him and He shall direct my path. Pro. 3:5-6
   Have a wonderful weekend RTW Friends!

10. First, let me say that Wendy was definitely not talking about just herself. Although the key verses that stood out to me were different than her’s, much of the same feelings came from them. Here is an excerpt of some of what I wrote in my journal:

    Genesis 15: 7-8 – – in these verses God tells Abram “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” But, Abram was quick to doubt and ask the Lord “how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” It is easy for me to read these verses and criticize Abram for his doubt. Probably because I know how his story ends and that he does gain all that the Lord promised. But, I am so much like him when it comes to believing that God has great things in store for me. Lord, I often feel you lay dreams upon my heart, but because I cannot see how they will come to fruition I doubt. I let this doubt and fear of the unknown stop me from taking any actions. I do not go forth and “take possession of it.” Help me to overcome this doubt, to believe in your promises, and to step out in faith.

11. We have the greatest wish granter in the universe. Now I maybe a step a head of myself, but I believe God has fulfilled my wish.
    Growing up I always wanted to have a little girl with dark hair and blue eyes, and I would name her Natalie (as I was always a fan of Natalie Wood). Well, I grew up, married later, needed some help getting pregnant. We lost the first pregnancy, then we had our red-headed Jamie. We were surprised when I became pregnant again without any help. Oh how I prayed for my girl, but God blessed us with a boy. I figured the pregnancy we lost was my girl, so we named him Nathaniel. The closest I could get to Natalie and I settled for that. Years, have gone by and our boys grew up. They dated off and on. Had their hearts broken a few times. Then our Jamie met a girl, you guessed it. Her name is Natalie and they have been dating for going on four years. I am faithfully believing she will become my daughter. Lesson, He gives us our blessings in His timing and not our own.

12. Waiting on God requires faith in a God who is able to do exceeding, abundantly above all that we could imagine. Sarai got caught up in the “how” of the situation. Unbelief does that. It relies on the limitations of human reasoning and imagination and offers the best that man can produce. Sarai did the best that she could through Hagar and received the best of her efforts, Ishmael.

    Sadly, Abram, like Adam with Eve, concedes to his wife’s decisive action, and the consequences affect succeeding generations.

    How have my decisions effected those around me?

13. Assumptions – this is what has my focus today. What expectations have I put on myself and God about how my life should look like. Well only disappointment and frustration can come from these thoughts! So I am surrendering anew my life , my dreams and plans to a Covenant keeping God (El Roi), who sees me, Carole and always has good thoughts towards me and is always working behind the scenes to bring all things good together for my life. I want Obedience and Patience to be my middle names. As Wendy pointed out yesterday – if we stay within His boundaries, blessings will follow. What a Good,Good Father He is. Selah

14. My Something Old and My Something New are related today.

    Something Old
    ~Abram’s wavering back and forth between trusting God and relying on his ow strength.
    ~God’s patience with Abram and continual repetition of His covenant promises.

    Something New
    ~Abram’s honesty with God about his questions.
    ~Abram suggests to God early in today’s reading that one of his servants would be his heir since he has no children. God assures him that he will have a son of his own. Yet later Abram agrees to Sarai’s plan to have an heir through Hagar.

    Something to Do
    ~Be honest with God whe. I have questions.
    ~Trust God’s plan for my life even when lit doesn’t seem to be working our from my limited perspective.

15. Sometimes a translation makes all this difference…or at least allows me to see something new in a passage. And that is certainly true here.

    Did you ever wonder why Abraham picked 10 as the number of righteous ppeople Sodom and Gomorrah would have to house in order for God to spare it? Rabbinic tradition says Abram had a particular group of people in mind. Lot, his wife, his two virgin daughters, his two sons in laws to be ….And two other grown daughters and their husbands. That makes 10.

    Where are those extra daughters coming from? The NLT just has the two virgin daughters who are betrothed and their husbands to be. The Torah and the KJV translate it differently:

    And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law. And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.” – Genesis 19:14-15 KJV

    But the sons in law (whether the ones to be or the ones to be and the ones who were already ) did not take the angels warning s seriously so they stayed .

    Guess we will never know this side of heaven but it certainly makes sense. It also explains why Lots wife looked back.

    Why would she care if her virgin daughter’s rapists were burned up? But if she had two married daughters who stayed behind because their husbands would not come, of course she looked back.

    Wouldn’t you have?

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