Genesis 21-23
Did you catch the awesomeness of the opening sentence of Genesis 21:1--Read it again! Does that give you reason to trust in God? Isaac is born just as God had promised Abraham and Sarah; and, Abraham was 100 years old. Isaac now is the rightful heir to Abraham's inheritance. And so it is Sarah's request that Hagar and Ishmael be sent away so that Isaac will not be improperly treated.
Have you ever endured something and thought that God was testing you? It is possible. The tests that God use are not intended to trip you up and watch you fall. God is not mean. Rather God tests His children to see how obedient they will be. God never intended for Abraham to kill his son Isaac. God wanted to know that Abraham valued God the most and that his obedience was complete. When it comes to your most cherished in your life-your children-do you love them more than you love God? Truly? This is a principle that God wants us all to know. Love God, first and foremost above all else. How do we do that? Trust God completely with everything! Read His word. Pray to Him always. And always obey what He says. When you do, God will always provide, just like He did for Abraham.
More than 40 years after she had given birth to Isaac, Sarah died at the age of 127. This is relatively young in this time period. After all we have seen people live as long as 900 years old and even older. After all that she and Abraham had been through, this was a terrible loss for Abraham and a proper and respectful burial was in order-and price was no option. Abraham honored his wife well with her burial.
In the opening words of Psalm 8, God is referred to as "O Lord, OUR Lord..." (NLT). At least that is the words my Bible uses. This possessive pronoun "OUR" leads me to worship with the Psalmist because God is not only David's "Lord"; but, God is also MY LORD! Can you praise God for being YOUR Lord today? Psalm 8:2 speaks of children and babies giving God praise. How would you interpret this? Perhaps it speaks of the child-like faith that children possess. How a little child can completely trust in their parents without reservations...like this little child, we too should have faith in OUR Lord! As you read Psalm 8:3-9, picture Genesis 1 and the wonder of God's creation. Compared to the universe and all that God created, what is man? But God considers humans to be His chief creation! A little lower than the angels and told to have care for all of creation. The Psalm ends with a parenthesis statement: It begins with "O Lord, OUR Lord..." and it ends with "O Lord, OUR Lord!" Such a wonderful song to sing to God! Try beginning your prayer time today with "O Lord, MY LORD!"
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