Protected From Ourselves
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While chatting with a friend recently, I realized he seemed to be giving a lot of credit to certain people for their moral uprightness; without giving credit to God, who allows all things to happen.
I was compelled to point him to an intervention God made in the book of Genesis.
READ Genesis 20: 1-6
“And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.”
But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said,
‘Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? Did he not say to me, “She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, “He is my brother.” In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.”
And God said to him in a dream,
‘Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch hER.’”
(Genesis 20:1-6 NKJV)
In the text, Abraham moved to Gerar (in the land of the Philistines), likely after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. And Abraham told the people of Gerar that Sarah was his sister. So Abimelech king of Gerar took Sarah (Abimelech, interpreted as “my father is king” is more likely a title, like “Prince”, than a sovereign name). But God appeared to him in a dream and told him,
“You are a dead man because of the woman you have taken; because she is someone’s wife.” (vv. 3)
Abimelech pleaded with God; and look at what God said in the second part of verse 6.
“For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.”
While Abimelech thought Sarah was just another wife; probably adding to his repertoire to entrench his power and form alliances; God saw a big problem and actively acted to prevent Abimelech from touching Sarah!
Maybe Abimelech had an emergency to attend to that night; maybe he had a meeting that went on till dawn; maybe he had to attend to a sick parent; maybe he fell ill; or maybe there was just no desire that night! Whatever the case, God prevented him!
The God of harvest intervenes in a lot of ways, according to His will and purpose.
There are certain seeds He would not allow us to sow; because He knows the harvest could be disastrous; and He actively prevents us from destroying ourselves!
The conversation between God and Abimelech suggests to me that Abimelech knew God, recognized His voice, and probably spoke with Him often.
When we walk with the Lord, not only does He give us good harvest; but He also protects, and prevents us from sowing seeds that destroy us; even against very convincing human wisdom!
MEMORY VERSE
“For I also withheld you from sinning against Me.” (Genesis 20:6)
QUESTIONS
1. Child of God; are you having a tough time doing something you think should have been very easy?
2. Why not check with God? He might probably be preventing you from taking a disastrous step.
PRAYER TIP
Father even when the sowing does not go well, please help us to trust You.
Written by:
BENNY MALM
For:
TESTIMONY DEVOTIONAL
URGENT CALL
By nature, we are all sinful, and alienated from God. We ultimately face the wrath of God!
But God in His mercy and love gives us a chance to reverse this trend, join His family, be part of His household, and become His children.
The first step to becoming a member of God’s household is for us to be saved.
Salvation comes through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Personal Savior.
It is a very personal decision. No one can make for you.
If you make that decision today, there will be great singing and rejoicing in heaven; because one new member has joined the family and household of God!
Do you want to make that decision today?
Please visit “The Believer’s Prayer” for guidance if you want to make that decision.
We will be happy to hear from you through the contact information on that page.
God richly bless you
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We thank God for counting us worthy to share in His Great Commission; and we thank you for sticking with us through this journey.
God richly bless you.
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