BLESSED

Life’s Choices!

And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. (Genesis 13:10-11)

Man always has the option of making his own choice but God gives the best to those who let Him make the choice for them. For our Father God has left us with another Helper to be to us all that Jesus was to His disciples when He walked the face of the earth. As a result if we let Him, the Holy Spirit helps us to be wise, understanding and discerning and to make the right choices.

For the real sin of man is not in making wrong choices but in not choosing to listen to and to obey his voice and words both spoken and written. For God’s Word says of His people:

"For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns-broken cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:13)

"Woe to the rebellious children," says the LORD, "Who take counsel, but not of Me, and who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin;  Who walk to go down to Egypt, and have not asked My advice, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!  Therefore the strength of Pharaoh shall be your shame, and trust in the shadow of Egypt shall be your humiliation. (Isaiah 30:1-3)

God’s people can be so foolish sometimes in that they leave Him who is the source of all wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel and might to follow the wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel and might of others or their own. This method has never worked nor will it but will only result in defeat, dismay, disgrace and destruction.

We see a very good illustration of this in the life of Abraham and Lot. God spoke to Abraham giving him a choice saying:

"Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:1-3)

Now Abraham made a choice to obey the Lord and He departed as the LORD had spoken to him but took Lot with him. For the record, Abraham was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. He and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they came to the land of Canaan.

The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.  (Genesis 12:7)

There was a famine in the land so Abraham, who walked by faith and not by sight, went to Egypt for a while where the Lord blessed and multiplied him so he was very rich in livestock, silver and gold. God had blessed a prosperous man and made Him more prosperous because Abraham obeyed and loved Him and put Him first.

God had blessed Abraham and Lot greatly in material things including flocks, herds and tents so that the land wasn’t able to support both of them. They couldn’t live together because there was continual strife between the herdsmen of Abraham’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. As a result, the Word of God records:

So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. "Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left."

And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.

Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD. (Genesis 13:5-11)

God hadn’t called Lot or told him what He told Abraham to follow and give up all for Him. Lot had just tagged along and God blessed him for Abraham’s sake. God knew that to Lot the things of the flesh were more important than the things of the Spirit and that Lot put his own interests first above others including God’s.  This is evident in the choices which  Lot made that were selfish and greedy, and only considered what was good for himself and not for others.

However,  Lot’s  choice, as all selfish and greedy choices do,  had a real consequence that he was to pay for with all his material wealth and possession. As Lot hadn’t understood a very important principle Jesus often taught that losing things brings the gain of things and that trying to gain things only brings their loss. For Jesus said on many occasions:

"He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. (Matthew 10:39)

"Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. (Luke 17:33)

This is something that Lot was to find out the hard way when Sodom and Gomorrah was judged and destroyed by God and nothing remained. As for Abraham he was to find out the truth of God’s Word:

 For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off. The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the LORD upholds him with His hand. (Psalms 37:22-24)

Now Abraham didn’t exactly follow completely God’s commands to him: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house.”

Lot was of Abraham’s family and God ordained the circumstances so there would be a fight and separation between the two. One symbolizing the children of the flesh and the other the children of the Spirit. God’s Word tells us:

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:6)

"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:63)

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1)

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. (Romans 8:5)

There is a visible difference between the children of the flesh and the children of the Spirit in what they want, do, seek, speak  and how they act, even among Christians. So the Word of God records:

And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: "Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are-northward, southward, eastward, and westward; "for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. "And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered.

"Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you." Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the LORD. (Genesis 13:14-18)

Unfortunately, the underlying truth in this situation applies to many of us, even as Christians. We don’t listen to the Voice of God and obey all the commandments that he has given to us. We don’t give up all our control to Him and as a result we don’t get His all.

Some of us, base our choices on the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, and the lust of the flesh. This is of the world and not of the Father. So we make wrong choices as Lot did and suffer the same terrible consequences when God comes to judge and chastise us in His due season.

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

Lot gained in the beginning  but  he lost in the end. Abraham appeared to have lost but actually he gained. For God plus one is a majority and success and prosperity in any situation and circumstance. So we need the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit to make the right choices in life even on matters that don’t seem important.

For everything about us is important to God and He wants to be involved in our daily affairs. We are also to make a choice not to let the enemy come in and take anything away from us again. To choose to get closer to God more than ever, as close as it is possible in Heaven.   The choice is ours! We can get very close to Him! He won’t bite us! He won’t hurt us! He won’t deceive us! He won’t abandon us! He won’t fight with us! He will walk with us and bless us mightily as He did with Abraham if we chose to walk blamelessly and righteously in His sight and others.

God has shown us the better way. He has  given His Son who gave us the victories on the Cross. It was at the Cross the Lord took us, as we are, with our defeats, emptiness and failures, and in exchange gave us Himself, His Fullness, Victories and Successes.

The Cross of Christ has provided for Victory over everything. We need only to humble ourselves and tell the King of Kings that we missed the boat and we need His  victory. Then the God of Grace, Mercy and Love will give us Victory.