God's patient completion of His purposes--in us, through us and with us--speak to me in this chapter. Way back in Ur, God had called Abram to leave his people and his father's house. We have seen God working patiently with Abram as he obeyed, learned and grew! We have looked at the beginnings of Abram's obedience as he journeyed to Haran with his father's household. Then we walked along on his faithless, deceitful detour into Egypt during the famine. Today we follow Abram back back to the Promised Land--with Lot still a part of his household.
We've seen that God did not abandon Abram at any point; in fact, he protected him and blessed him. While God may bless us even when we are a bit shy of His will, those blessings may cause some complications that God will then put to work in completing His purposes. The abundance of Abram's and Lot's possession led to some challenges. God simply used those blessed challenges to bring about His original purposes--the call He had given to Abram back in Ur.
Abram was back to seeking the Lord and living in faith. Rather than fight with Lot when conflicts arose, he sacrificed his 'rights' and offered Lot the choice of pasture land. Lot was living by sight and opted for the 'best' land--he was willing to sacrifice relationship for earthly riches; Lot sacrificed much more than he realized. The land he chose had hidden dangers; the land Abram received in faith had hidden blessings.
When Abram and Lot were separated, God appeared to Abram again. The greatest blessing of obedience is fellowship with God. In this appearance God told Abram to walk throughout the land because it would all be his! Our God is abundantly generous, patient and forgiving! He walks with us as we stumble toward His purposes, and He uses the stuff of life to bring us to the decisions He intended all along! Isn't He awesome?!
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