“The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever.” (Genesis 13:14–15, ESV)
The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look.”Sometimes making the hard call of being generous leaves us with feelings of fear and hopelessness. While we may put on a brave front, inside we are trembling with questions of insecurity. “Did we do the right thing? What am I going to now? Why was I so generous? What was I thinking?
As Abram watched and listened, his nephew chose: “And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other.” (Genesis 13:10–11, ESV)
In case you missed it, or were distracted for some reason, Abram and Lot have animals, lots of animals. Nephew Lot chooses all the water in the valley! Talk about a gut-punch! As he chooses he seems to forget that he would be a homeless beggar over a 1,000 miles away right now at best, and more likely dead had it not been for the kindness of his uncle, Abram. And this is how Lot repays his kindness.
Is it fear that grips Abram? We won’t know until we ask him. What we do know is that God rushed in with assurance that all would be more than well. While Lot got the water of the Jordan River right now, Abraham and his family got the Promised Land forever.
It’s easy to fear after being generous. In fact, I would subscribe to the idea that it’s normal. But thank God we aren’t normal. We serve a supernaturalGod that loves to show up and show off! While everyone else is counting us out, God is counting our blessings.
What’s eating away at you? Did you give too much to someone? Are you lying awake at night worrying about it? Isn’t this a good time to “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are?”God is about to bless you more abundantly than you could ever imagine!
Turn-Around Tuesdays are designed to bring hope and help, insight and encouragement to those of us who are simply overwhelmed by the flood of problems life throws at us. No one is immune to trials and troubles, but God has a way of lifting us from life’s torrents. Each short thought is written by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Executive Director of Eagles In Leadership, and comes from his life-journey with the God who never leaves us or forsakes us. He welcomes your comments below.
