Communion with God - 4: Ask GOD

“No one is able to plan his own course.”

God established a covenant with Abram; however, God did not establish a timetable with Abram for the receipt of the blessing, the beginning of Abram’s lineage, the first-born heir, the start of a nation born from God’s promise.¹ 

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

     But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing that I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”  Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”

       And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

       And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

       Then He said to him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”²

        It had been ten years since Abram came to the land of Canaan³ after obeying God’s command to leave his country and family. God promised to make him a great nation,⁴ and to make his descendants as numerous “as the dust of the earth,⁵ yet “Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children.”⁶ During this time, God continued to bless Abram: He compounded his wealth in spite of a famine in the land to which he was called;⁷ He gave him the land of Canaan;⁸ He rescued his nephew, Lot, and all of his possessions.⁹ God had a plan, a timetable of events for Abram to walk through, and God’s sovereign power over his destiny was evident in His prophesy of the future captivity of Abram’s descendants:  “Then He said to Abram: ‘Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will serve them four hundred years.’ ”¹⁰ Why then did Abram take matters into his hands for the purpose of carrying out God’s will based on his expectations of the reward and blessing due to him?

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children.  Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.¹¹

            During your walk in faith, you will be tempted to act outside of God’s will.  Temptations does not come from God, for God does not tempt us,¹² but rather, He gives us the strength to endure temptation that is presented to us and a means of escape from it.¹³ Satan tempts us during our moments of weakness, not when we are consumed with God, but when we are downtrodden, losing hope, fearful that God has forgotten His end of the promise. In his conniving, cunning, deceitful ways, Satan may use a person close to you to dissuade you from your original calling. Eve offered the forbidden fruit to Adam, and Sarai provoked Abram to bear a child with her maid, Hagar:

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.¹⁴

So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children.  Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.¹⁵

Satan catches us off guard; we are drawn to please the one we love, and we succumb to the step that leads us out of God’s perfect will.

           Does your deviation from your walk in faith with God change God’s plan? God is omniscient—all knowing. He does not react to your deviant behavior by resetting the future course of events. God is testing your faith and uses your deviation from His perfect will as a lesson to teach you with consequences, to get your attention, and to direct you back to His perfect will. Each time you deviate and come back, He deepens your understanding, sharpens your discernment, broadens your wisdom, and strengthens your faith in His sovereign power to direct your life on the narrow path that few will follow.¹⁶ Adam accepted that which was forbidden, “and he ate.”¹⁷ Abram gave into Sarai’s concern over her barrenness, “and Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.”¹⁸ Sin was conceived, and a nation was born, and both nations will be with us until the end of this age.

         What is the most profound lesson from the examples of Adam and Abram’s deviation from their walk with God? When you are at a crossroad, a place where you have a choice to make that could change the direction of your travel, do you haphazardly, without forethought deviate from your original plan—the calling that set you on a journey?  Adam and Abram forgot to look at their road map, God’s prophetic word regarding their future,¹⁹ and furthermore, when they were about to change course, they did not ask God.

       Think back to times when you found yourself on a different route than the one on which God had originally placed you. At a crossroad, you made a choice. Did you ask God what His choice was? Which route did He want you to take? When we do not ask, we are not sure that we will receive. Jesus, when instructing His disciples to love one another, said to them, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another.”²⁰ God gives you commands and He expects you to obey. He does not leave you helpless in the process. He chose you, and He will give you all that you need to follow Him:

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.²¹

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.²²

For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.²³

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.²⁴

   Do not consider God available to you only as an afterthought. He chose you. You are commanded to ask of Him. Do not ask out of shame or with meekness; for this is how he instructs us: “Let us therefore come boldly,” and “Let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach.” We are fools if we do not seek His wisdom. King Solomon was no fool:

At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask!  What shall I give you?” ²⁵

And Solomon said, “Therefore give to your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil.²⁶

And God said, “Behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart.”²⁷

King Solomon provides us with God’s Word regarding wisdom—seeking and applying it—and responding to God’s discipline in numerous proverbs that he penned:

A wise man will hear and increase learning,

And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,

To understand a proverb and an enigma,

The words of the wise and their riddles.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,

But fools despise wisdom and instruction.²⁸

Turn at my rebuke;

Surely I will pour out my spirit on you;

I will make my words known to you.²⁹

My son, if you receive my words,

And treasure my commands within you,

So that you incline your ear to wisdom,

And apply your heart to understanding;

Yes, if you cry out for discernment,

And lift up your voice for understanding,

If you seek her as silver,

And search for her as for hidden treasures;

Then you will understand the fear of the LORD,

And find the knowledge of God.

For the LORD gives wisdom;

From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;

He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;

He guards the path of justice,

And preserves the way of His saints.

Then you will understand righteousness and justice,

Equity and every good path.³⁰

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths.

Do not be wise in your own eyes;

Fear the LORD and depart from evil.³¹

When you are at the crossroads of a choice, do not be wise in your own eyes; seek God’s wisdom by asking Him, and He will be ready to give truly all that you need to take the route that remains in His perfect will.

I know, LORD, that a person’s life is not his own.  No one is able to plan is own course.  So correct me, LORD, but please be gentle.  Do not correct me in anger, for I would die.³²  

—Jeremiah the prophet

Praise to Our Father for the words He has given me. ~Jeff Cambridge

Written July 12, 2004, Copyright © 2004, 2005, 2016 Stellar Rhema Ministry, Jeff Cambridge

References:

1.     Galatians 4:28

2.     Genesis 15:1-7

3.     Galatians 16:3

4.     Genesis 12:2

5.     Genesis 13:16

6.     Genesis 16:1

7.     Genesis 12:10, 13:2

8.     Genesis 13:15

9.     Genesis 14:14-16

10.   Genesis 15:13

11.   Genesis 16:1-4

12.   James 1:13

13.   1 Corinthians 10:13

14.   Genesis 3:6

15.   Genesis 16:2

16.   Matthew 7:14

17.   Genesis 3:6

18.   Genesis 16:2

19.   Genesis 2:16-17, 15:4-5

20.   John 15:16-17 italics added

21.   James 1:2-8 italics added

22.   1 Corinthians 10:12,13 italics added

23.   Hebrews 2:18

24.   Hebrews 4:15-16 italics added

25.   1 Kings 3:5

26.   1 Kings 3:9

27.   1 Kings 3:12

28.   Proverbs 1:5-7

29.   Proverbs 1:23

30.   Proverbs 2:1-9

31.   Proverbs 3:5-7 italics added

32.   Jeremiah 10:23-24

Communion with God - 3: Covenant

“And he believed in the LORD.”

As I was collecting my thoughts this morning, establishing the priorities for the day and realizing I had less time than I wanted to spend communing with God before I left for work, I saw a rainbow on the floor. The morning light reflecting through the bureau mirror had created a rainbow of color, and I was reminded that some things are not what they first appear, that there is more behind what we see on the surface. Such as it is with light. Who would have thought that white light was comprised of red, blue, yellow and green colors. The eye does not see this until the light is presented in a different way. So go the circumstances in our lives.

    Presently, I am experiencing a walk in faith with God.  This walk is significant to me for several reasons. First, I believe that God has anointed me with the spiritual gift of prophecy. Coupled with that is the gift of scribing His words in a way to which others can relate, thereby, impacting their lives and their relationship with God. Second, God has given me specific instructions to follow and a timeframe on which to focus. Third, walking in faith is not as straightforward or pleasant as I thought. 

    As God begins to speak to you during your times of communion with Him, He will place more demands on your behavior, your responses to the circumstances in which you find yourself.  Consider God’s promise to Abram when He declared that Abram would be the father of nations:

      After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”

      And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

      And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. 

       Then He said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”

      And he said, “Lord GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?”¹

Abram believed in the LORD. But what did Abram do? Abram believed in the LORD.  How? Abram believed in the LORD with his heart.

    God knows your heart.  Communing with God is about understanding His heart for you, for He understands your heart for Him. Walking in faith is not about going through the motions of righteous living—doing things because you are pretending that if you go through the steps of faith that then, you are walking in it. The walk in faith is a consequence of a heart of belief, for if you believe with your heart, you will profess with your words and demonstrate with your behavior God’s righteousness, for He will be living through you, and you will be walking in His Spirit:

           

      But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Here there is no conflict with the law.

       Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.  If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.²

    God has shown me on several occasions during my walk in faith that going through the motions does not demonstrate faith. Faith is believing in what you cannot see—like the white light. Believing God if He told you without you seeing it, that white light was comprised of red, blue, yellow, and green colors! Walking in faith is not determining the outcome or reward for “believing” and suggesting to God—or even demanding it—that, “If I go through the steps of relying on you, I then expect a reward at the end”—the end defined by you when you are finished relying on God and wish to be “in control” again. This is not faith! This is switching the roles of God and servant! You established your parameters for righteous living, “walking in faith,” and the outcome and timetable for His response. Doing this makes a mockery of your faith in God.

   Abram asked God, “Lord GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” Abram was seeking confirmation of how God’s promise would be manifested. How would he know?  When would it occur? Abram did not establish the answers to his own questions, but rather, Abram listened to God and carried out His next set of instructions:

So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon.”  Then he brought all these to him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.³

And Abram waited for God’s response.

Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. Then He said to Abram: “know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites in not yet complete.”⁴

God gave Abram a sign that Abram would understand that a covenant had been established between them—the cutting of a calf in two and walking between the halves was a customary way to ratify a contract:⁵ This vision symbolized God’s commitment to honor His promise to Abram:

As the sun went down and it became dark, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. So the LORD made a covenant with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River—the land of Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”⁶

With the same commitment, God established a covenant with Noah, symbolized by the rainbow in the clouds after the Great Flood that wiped out all living creatures except for those within the Ark.

Then God told Noah and his sons, “I am making a covenant with you and your descendants, and with the animals you brought with you—all these birds and livestock and wild animals. I solemnly promise never to send another flood to kill all living creatures and destroy the earth.” And God said, “I am giving you a sign as evidence of my eternal covenant with you and all living creatures. I have placed My rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my permanent promise to you and to all the earth.⁷

Noah had faith in God and believed in the LORD.  Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.⁸ Abram and Noah were asked by God to do extraordinary things, to carry out extraordinary instructions that you and I may have questioned, faltered, or disobeyed. You may be told by God to do something extraordinary that requires you to walk in faith with God.  God woke me this morning to the vision of a rainbow to remind me of His covenant—God is Faithful and True.⁹

Praise to Our Father for the words He has given me. ~Jeff Cambridge

Written July 11, 2004, Copyright © 2004, 2005, 2016 Stellar Rhema Ministry, Jeff Cambridge

References:

1.     Genesis 15:1-8 italics added

2.     Galatians 5:22-25 NLT

3.     Genesis 15:9-10

4.     Genesis 15:12-16

5.     Jeremiah 34:18-20

6.     Genesis 15:17-20 NLT

7.     Genesis 9:8-13 NLT

8.     Genesis 6:14-22

9.     Revelation 19:11