Author: missionspaul

Abram has left everything behind to follow the call of God, but what he had been carrying in his heart is now poured out into prayer before God. He is afraid of something, and God knows what it is. Abram had been seeking God for a desire of his heart, but there had been no answer. Up to this point, we don’t have any record of a complaint, but God provokes Abram, and then it spills out.

“After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’ ² But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” ⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” ⁵ He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspringbe.” ⁶ Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15 v 1-6)

Who is Eliezer? Is he Abram’s chief servant? Abram’s fear is that all that God had given him, and more importantly, the promise that God will give more, looks very unlikely because there is no son to receive his inheritance. Remember how God promised Abram he would be the founder of a great nation?

There is a gap between the current reality and the promise he received.

How can I become a nation with no heir?

So he prays, “Sovereign Lord …” This is a wonderful title expressing his faith that God can do anything. At the same time, Abram is confused as to why He hasn’t done this one thing.

We, too, face these confusing moments in our lives. Especially if you have a promise from God that you are holding on to, despite everything contradicting that.

In the vision, God takes Abram for a walk. On that walk, he is told to look up, something that we all need to do at times. Count the stars. Abram tries to do the impossible task. At some point, he stops counting, but that task leads him to choose to believe. He will believe what God has said, not what Abram can see (no son). God knows Abram cannot count the stars, but the exercise reveals to Abram that His promise far outweighs Abram’s comprehension. God is going to do something that is beyond his ability to measure. He can’t have the fine details on this. He won’t be able to work it out. This is beyond his ability to make it happen. The stars are uncountable; just when you think you have got a number, you see more, or someone offers you a telescope, and it becomes a whole new universe.

The point being is this: the God who put the stars in place has given Abram, a 75-year-old man, a promise that is impossible, a son. Trying to do the impossible of counting the stars moves the complaint of disbelief, and what is handed to Abram is an invitation to trust God.

Go out into the night sky. The promises God has given you far outweigh anything you can understand. His ways are higher. Perhaps you need to look up today and try counting the stars, the same ones that Abram tried. God can do it for you.

Many years ago, as a young Pastor, I was facing a big project for my small church. I needed £20,000, and a man in my church who was very controlling offered it to me. I had never been offered such an amount of money. With the offer came a condition. I had to let the whole church know that we got the money from him. I turned him down. I couldn’t believe I was turning down the £20,000, but what I was actually turning down was the further difficulty of being controlled by this man.

I remember that as I read the next part of Abram’s story. He has just won a victory over the dominant kings and rescued Lot, his nephew.

“After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). ¹⁸ Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, ¹⁹ and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. ²⁰ And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. ²¹ The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” ²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, ²³ that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share.” (Genesis 14 v 17-24)

The King of Salem and the King of Sodom came out to meet Abram. The King of Salem, Melchizedek, was on the same spiritual level as Abram; he believed in God and served Him as priest. He brings bread and wine and blesses Abram. In turn, Abram gives him a tenth of everything he has.

Then another King of Sodom comes to meet Abram. This time, he tries to do a deal. Abram can keep everything, but Sodom wants the people. But Abram refuses to allow anyone to control him or to say ‘I made you rich.’

Using the same titles for God as Melchizedek did, the ‘God Most High, the Creator of heaven and earth’, is acknowledged as the one who has given to Abram, no other individual.

Sometimes the offers that come your way are nothing more than control. £20,000 was a lot of money, but it was cheap, coming with the strings attached.

It is essential to protect the source of your blessing. If you receive what looks like a blessing, first think, is this leading me nearer to God or away from him? Who is likely to receive the glory here?

It may be radical, but protecting the source of your life matters more than the success and gain of your life. Protect the fact that God is your provider. Melchizedek knew this, and so did Abram.

When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he didn’t deliberate or form a committee; he gathered his 318 trained men and rode into the night.

 ^“They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom. ¹³ A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother^[b] of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. ¹⁴ When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. ¹⁵ During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. ¹⁶ He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.” (Genesis 14 v 12-16)

I’ve got some questions to ponder:

1. When someone who has wronged us falls into crisis, do we calculate what they deserve or what they need?
2. When did playing it safe become more important than doing what’s right?
3. Does fear of failure give us permission to do nothing?
4. Who around us have we written off as too far gone, too broken, or too difficult to save?
5. When society calls someone collateral damage, do we agree—or do we see someone worth pursuing?
6. If God didn’t leave us in our captivity, how can we leave others in theirs?

And finally, the most important question isn’t whether people around us need rescuing. Question 7 is: Will we be the kind of people who ride into the night for them?

This may not be your usual daily passage of Scripture to read. We are going to read about an ancient war where four kings, led by Kedorlaomer of Elam, crushed a rebellion by five city-states, including Sodom and Gomorrah. After defeating numerous regional peoples, they plundered the rebellious cities and captured Abraham’s nephew Lot, setting the stage for Abraham’s rescue mission.

“At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar,Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goyim, ^two these kings went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). ³ All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea Valley). ⁴ For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.⁵ In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim ⁶ and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert. ⁷ Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazezon Tamar.⁸ Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim ⁹ against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. ¹⁰ Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills. ¹¹ The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. ¹² They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.” (Genesis 14 v 1-12)

This coalition of four powerful kings from the east—Kedorlaomer of Elam, Amraphel of Shinar, Arioch of Ellasar, and Tidal of Goyim—who in the region of the Dead Sea had dominated five city states for twelve years. But in the thirteenth year, those same city-states rebelled and pushed back, and the next year Kedorlaomer launched a full-scale war supported by his allies.

This wasn’t a minor skirmish. Kedorlaomer’s response to this rebellion was a systematic crushing of tribes and peoples who were just frankly in the way.  This wasn’t random violence. It was strategic domination. The four kings then went chasing Sodom and Gomorrah to defeat them, which reads easily enough, especially because the valley they called home was full of tar pits, which proved a trap for their own lives.

Then we come to verse twelve. Lot had chosen to live in Sodom, despite his reputation, and had separated from his uncle. Now he has been taken prisoner and his possessions stolen.

The world was a mess, and it had just got worse with the capture of Lot.

With hindsight, maybe Lot would not have chosen what looked good; Sodom, with all of its prosperity, now carries unforeseen consequences for being there. Where we decide to plant ourselves is very important. You may not know the historical conflicts, the present moral atmosphere or that war would break out. This isn’t punishment, but the truth that the decisions we make for our lives are always part of bigger stories that may have nothing to do with us.

We choose. We get to decide not only where we live, but who we live with, who we align ourselves with, knowing that we cannot see the chapters to come, just the one we are in now. We see injustice all around because the guilty and innocent are both at the receiving end of violence.

Sometimes we find ourselves trapped in other people’s battles. That battle may have had nothing to do with you. It could have been historical, for wounds can take a long time to truly heal, or it could have been predicted. In a sense, Lot was collateral damage; he could not have been blamed for the battle, he was just there.

Ask the child caught up in his parents’ divorce, the employee wondering how the executives’ battle will impact their own job, the family member pulled from side to side in a relative’s battle, or the neighbour who realises there is a historical feud in the neighbourhood. Proximity can create vulnerability, making it impossible to stay neutral. The examples are everywhere. We may live in a nation hated by most because of the regime and culture that we were born into, not involved in creating that enemy. We work for organisations that have systems and ways of doing things that work well most of the time, but when some begin to be negatively affected, we get caught up in those arguments, because neutrality gives us no protection whatsoever.

There we leave it. Lot was taken. He could not free himself. No matter how much positive thinking or good decision-making he did, trying harder would not set him free. He needed rescuing. There are moments in our lives when we are caught up in something that we actually didn’t choose. We blinked, and we were there, trapped. It is then that we need someone to say, “You’re caught in something you can’t escape alone, so I’m coming for you.” Not because it’s their fight, but because you’re their person. And that is the story of salvation.

We have all faced moments of loss. Some of these experiences are deeply traumatic, leaving lasting scars, while others come upon us so quickly that we remain in shock. Relationships have come to an unexpected end, opportunities have slipped away, seasons of our lives have drawn to a close, and we are left with decisions to make, namely, how do I navigate this separation?

Abram has made a decision, and so has his nephew, Lot. They have separated. Lot chose what looked good, and Abram decided to stay in the uncertainty of Canaan.

“The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, ‘Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. ¹⁵ All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. ¹⁶ I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. ¹⁷ Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” ¹⁸ So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.” (Genesis 13 v 14-18)

Have I made the right decision? It is a question we have all asked.

After the pain of the goodbye, after the heartache of separation, God speaks.

Throughout Scripture, God will say the same thing, whether it be to look into what is in our hands or, like with Abram now, ‘look where you are right now, in this situation, identify what you can see.’

God wants you to take your eyes off what you have lost, what has been separated from you, or what others have that you don’t, and look at what you have now. There is a new horizon for you.

God speaks again. “Go, walk …” He says the same to you. To live out where you are, explore, and move, for He will open up what is in front of you if you walk forward.

Don’t die waiting for God to give to you. Get up and take wise steps even though you are uncertain.

In doing so, Abram knows to build another altar. Worship is the rhythm of faith.

You may not be where you want to be. You may wish the heartache had never happened. But you can look up. There is more for you, even if you cannot see it right now. Make a step forward into your next chapter and build an altar of worship, mark the moment, this ground is holy ground, for it signals a new day.

Decisions are part of our lives. We make them most days, and sometimes they demand more attention than others. How are you at making decisions? What criteria do you use to make the right decision?

“Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) ¹¹ So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: ¹² Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. ¹³ Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.” (Genesis 13 v 10-13)

One way to make a decision is to create a list of benefits. A pros and cons list. Focusing on the benefits and the opportunities the decision would bring. With this approach, Lot made the right choice, didn’t he? Read it again. Wouldn’t we have made that decision?

One question to ask is this: What are we overlooking when we are making a decision? Sometimes we need someone to check our blind spots to this. We pursue that job that pays a high salary, but we overlook the time it will take away from our small children. We choose the best opportunity, but forget that it takes us away from who we are called to be. Read verses 10 and 13 again. Lot would not have known that God would destroy those 2 cities. But if he had enquired a bit more, he would have found the reason why that may have been possible.

So how do we make good decisions?

We can do so by making sure that we don’t focus on “What will I achieve or how will I benefit?” but on this question: “Who am I destined to become if I choose this?”

Not everything that looks like the ‘garden of the Lord’ is, and in fact, there lies a clue. Lot would have known the story of Eden and should have asked what the moral of the story. Eve took what looked good, and Adam ate it and lost everything.

When we overlook what looks good, then we can lose more than we anticipated

Before you lies opportunities. But make sure you know what lies there as well. What you see is not as important as what you are not seeing.

Where will this decision take you or do to you? And not only you, but perhaps your household too.

Prosperity can divide what hardship never could. What once seemed like limitless space becomes crowded when blessings multiply.

Abraham’s journey illustrates this paradox. Returning from Egypt to Bethel, to the altar where he’d first worshipped God, he found that success had created an unexpected problem. Both he and his nephew Lot now possessed such vast flocks and herds that the land couldn’t sustain them together. Their herdsmen began to quarrel.

“So Abram said to Lot, ‘Let’s not have any quarrelling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.'” (Genesis 13:8-9)

Abraham’s response reveals a heart restored to God. He doesn’t investigate who’s at fault or rally supporters to his side. Instead, he prioritises the relationship over his rights. Though custom and seniority entitled him to the first choice, he surrenders that advantage to Lot.

This moment shows us something profound: when we return to our “Bethel”—that place of worship where we surrender our lives to God—generosity flows naturally. We can let go of what we deserve and offer others a better position.

Our world obsesses over rights. We’re conditioned to fight for what’s ours, to ensure we get our fair share. But what if there’s another way?

When we approach conflicts with open hands rather than clenched fists, when we value relationships over entitlements, we participate in something greater than mere fairness. We reflect the character of a God who gave up everything for us.

How many of our conflicts might dissolve if we stopped demanding what’s rightfully ours? What could generosity unlock in our families, friendships, and communities?

We have just read how Abram had pretended his wife was his sister. It was an act of deception and an exploitation of his wife. This not only undermined his integrity but also exploited Sarai, revealing a troubling aspect of his character. As we transition into the next chapter of his story, we find a pivotal moment of change.

“So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. ² Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.” (Genesis 13 v 1)

I find this disturbing. After demonstrating a lack of faith, he returns wealthy. Where did he get his wealth from? We have to say he got the majority from Pharaoh after deceiving him with Sarai. Deception blessed him. But his prosperity caused problems, as we will see soon, for Lot remained with him. With more stuff (animals, for example), then more space was needed. But we will get to that eventually.

There isn’t any mention of God, but Abram returns to where he came from; he goes back up from Egypt to the Negev. He returns to the path he was on. God had never told him to go down to Egypt. It was a distraction due to the famine. He is now back focused. The dry Negev desert is a better place to be if it is where God wants you than being in the place of the abundant Egypt, when God never called you to be there and when you have failed Him.

So Abram goes up. He carries his past with him, his wife and his nephew; he cannot do anything about what he has done, but he can get back on track. He can realign himself with God’s purposes.

Perhaps that’s the lesson. In your imperfect humanity, you may have made many mistakes, life could have become complicated for you, but your next step is vital because it keeps you moving towards what God has for you.

Sometimes, that’s enough to get back into the journey.

Abram’s story had been one of faith and worship. God had promised him blessings, greatness, and descendants who would become a nation. He had responded by building two altars to worship the Lord. He was walking toward Canaan, toward God’s promise.

And then famine came.

 ^“Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. ¹¹ As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. ¹² When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. ¹³ Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.” ¹⁴ When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. ¹⁵ And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. ¹⁶ He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels. ¹⁷ But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. ¹⁸ So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? ¹⁹ Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” ²⁰ Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.” (Genesis 12 v 10-20)

This wouldn’t be the last time Abram stumbled. He would make strikingly similar mistakes again. Yet he remains our model of faith—not because he was flawless, but because he kept returning to God.

Abram’s failure teaches us something crucial about anxiety and decision-making:

Anxiety can redirect us away from God’s path entirely. Fear drove Abram to Egypt—the very place that would later symbolise bondage and oppression for his descendants. When we’re anxious, we risk fleeing toward the opposite of what God intends for us.

Anxiety tempts us to find security in the wrong places. Sometimes the things we run to in fear are the very things God is trying to free us from. Abram sought safety in Egypt; his descendants would spend centuries desperate to escape it.

Anxiety rarely affects only us. Abram’s fear-driven choices put others at risk. Sarai faced humiliation and danger. Pharaoh’s entire household suffered under God’s judgment. Our panicked decisions often create collateral damage in the lives of those around us.

When anxiety rises, slow down. Bring every anxious thought to God before making any decision. Abram’s legacy isn’t his perfection—it’s his pattern of returning to the altar, of coming back to God even after failure.

Be very slow to act when you’re afraid. The decision made in panic today may become the prison you’re desperate to escape tomorrow.

Abram has set out; he has left his homeland and is heading to a land of Promise, waiting for God to show him where to go. He has built two altars, and that’s where we pick it up with a short verse which tells us something important.

“Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.” (Genesis 12 v 9)

He keeps going.

He didn’t get a word from God.

But in this non-dramatic moment and with no guiding voice, he continues.

Maybe today, all that is in front of you is your next step, just another day. This is how faith works at times.

There are many people I know who will be waking up who need this encouragement to continue one more day. Further, this may mean that to continue is to walk into difficulty, not into an easier season. But continue you must.

To continue doesn’t sound exciting. Continuing is an action for the middle part. Many have started but fail to arrive because they don’t continue. It might not be courage that we need but endurance and commitment.

Abram had been told he would be blessed by receiving all nations, and it probably didn’t feel like that on the day he was continuing. You may have received many promises in your life, but they seem a million miles away today. But one more day of continuing is a step nearer.

Perhaps today you know you are called, but you don’t know what the next chapter will entail. It could be that you have to pray the same prayer you prayed yesterday because there is still no change, but pray that you will. Or maybe you have to turn up, even though it hurts, and no one seems to care whether you do. Success is often found in the quiet decision of obedience to keep on, to continue what you did yesterday, to take one more step. So go ahead. Continue.