Seed Thoughts August 2014

//Lynette Hagin

"The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be Like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." -Isaiah 58:11 (NIV)

In the last issue I talked about placing your trust in God to guide you in all things. I want to continue along these same lines this month. My husband and I continually quoted the 91st Psalm to our children. Both Craig and Denise knew that they could call on that psalm and the promises within it would become a reality in their lives.

Let's concentrate on the first two verses: "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand]. I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!" (Amplified). You would think that relying on God would be easy. However, it seems that we trust everything and everyone more than God.

To rely on means to depend on, trust in, or have confidence in someone. It means to be confident that a person will perform as expected. God has blessed each of us. He loves to bless us. We have learned our rights and privileges in Christ, and we have been blessed. That is all well and good. But often, as we enjoy our blessings, we stray from the Blesser. We begin to trust in our own ability instead of in the One Who gave us that ability. It is time that we place our confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ. We must know that only through Him will we make it in life.

Let's look at one of the greatest examples in the Bible of trusting in God: "The Lord had said to Abram, 'Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father's family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.' So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran" (Gen. 12:1–4 NLT).

Can you imagine being 75 and having God say to you, "I want you to leave your country and your family. I want you to go, but I'm not going to tell you where until you get there"? I can guarantee that we would not have obeyed God as quickly as Abram did. But Abram did quickly obey.

Why did Abram obey God? Because he trusted in God. Abram left his family. That meant transporting a great household, with servants and cattle. Someone with less faith would have staggered at God's command. God's first word to Abram was "go." And Abram had to start out before God showed him the next step. When he said, "OK, Lord, I'll go," then God began to lead him.

Many times we don't want to move until God shows us the whole picture. That is seldom God's technique. He wants us to be people of faith. Sometimes God's direction doesn't make sense to us. All Abram had was the right sense of direction. Not until he was actually in Canaan did God tell him that this was the land of which He had spoken.

Did Abram have tests along the way? Most assuredly yes! No sooner had he arrived in Canaan than a famine struck. Imagine—a famine in the land of promise! After the famine, Abram had trouble with Lot, his relative. Abram realized that he and Lot needed to part, so he gave Lot first choice of the land. Lot chose what he thought was the most prosperous area. However, Abram had what God had chosen for him.

It appeared that God's promise was not coming to pass. When Abram was 99, the Lord appeared to him and reassured him of His covenant and promise.

Then God changed his name to Abraham, which means "father of many nations" (Gen. 17:5). And the Lord changed Abraham's wife's name from Sarai to Sarah and said kings would come from her (Gen. 17:15–16 NKJV). At their age this seemed impossible. But once again, Abraham trusted God. And it came to pass.
Are you willing to wait on God for the right time? For the right answer? God sees every detail of your life. He is saying, "Don't panic or get ahead of Me. Rely on Me. Trust in Me, and I will see you through every detail of your situation."