God is working His plans out (Gen 12-15; Psalm 148; Mark 5)

What is God doing in the world? Do you ever wonder that?

For many years Abram and Sarai struggled with the pain of childlessness. For years they had the pain of everyone else seeming to have no problems conceiving, there was an emptiness, a bereavement without actually having lost anyone. Where was God? Well, for years they had served pagan gods, and then suddenly out of the blue, the LORD made an undeserved promise. God would make Abram into a great nation! How could this be? He was 75 years old and childless. Amazingly Abram believed and went to the land that God told him to go to. Yet, his faith was a wavering faith, you see, God’s timing was not quite as Abram would have liked and a few times he seems to think God needs a bit of help.

The first time he tries to help God by seeking to preserve his life. Abram figures he will die if people discover that Sarai is his wife, so he tells her to lie, what use are the promises if he’s dead!

But God is able to work things out despite Abram’s failure.

God makes another incredible promise to Abram, his descendants will be as numerous as the stars (Genesis 15). Amazingly Abram believes, and wonderfully we are told that God counts Abram righteous because of His faith. This is the way to be friends with God! To take Him at His word, to trust him.

God makes a further promise to Abram through the strange ritual of the animals cut in half. This was the way people used to make agreements. They would walk between the dissected animals and recite the terms of the agreement, the decapitated animals would be a reminder to them of the seriousness of the promises. It was as if they were saying, let this happen to me if I don’t keep my word. The strange thing in Genesis 15 is that it is only God (represented by the torches) who walks through the animals. God is saying if the terms are broken, he will take the punishment. An incredibly gracious promise, pointing us forward to Christ’s death for us.

Sometimes we may wonder where God is and what He is up to. The narrative of Abram assures us that God is working out His plans, even when it may not appear to fit into our timescale. Even the long delay in exile (as promised in Genesis 15) is part of the Lord’s salvation plan.

Are there areas where you are struggling to trust the Lord’s plans and His timing? Why not ask him to help you learn from Abram that His plans will not fail, and if you belong to Jesus by a faith like Abram, then He is working for your eternal good.