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Tag: Bargaining with God

Communion with God

Genesis 18:33 reads “And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.

A few things that we can see from this verse is: First that the Lord went his way. Second, it was as soon as he had finished communing with Abraham. Third Abraham returned to his place.

Abraham is one of the few who you can say bargained with God as a intercessor for not only his loved one (Lot) but also for the righteous among the lost (the people of Sodom and Gomorrah). Such conversation and communion with the Lord is a testament to the closeness and communion (fellowship) that Abraham had with the Lord. When the Lord left, Abraham could have taken matters into his own hands and gone towards Sodom and Gomorrah to warn his nephew Lot and others there, but we see that Abraham simply returned to his place, leaving matters of God for God to deal with.

Points to ponder:
God ways shall always be fulfilled for his thoughts are not our thoughts and his ways not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). If we want to have our ways, the best thing to do would be to seek God’s ways and follow his lead – making our ways his – in which case, it shall always come to pass. Just as Jesus said, that his will was to finish the work of God the Father (John 4:34) and fulfill his will (John 6:38) – so should our prayer be.
Are you and I a close friend of God? Are we in his family so that he would take the time to commune with us as he did with Abraham, bargaining for the salvation of the righteous.
Finally, do we take matters into our own hands or do we let God’s sovereign will be – returning to where we belong and not an impediment to his plans? We must commune with God and know our place in his plan (will and way).

Genesis 18:33 (KJV)
33 And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.

Four stages of Spiritual Growth

Stage 1: All of me and none of God
This is the “self centered” individual suffering from what I call the “Me, Myself and I” syndrome. Note: sIn has got “I” in the middle, a.k.a. SIN =  Self Ish Ness
Traits : “Did not recognize me”, ” I deserve more than this”, “I have special spiritual gifts”, “I am better than someone else”, “I cannot be wrong”.

Stage 2: A lot of me and a little of God
This is the “bargainer”
Trait: God I will do this, if you do this for me

Stage 3: A little of me and a lot of God
This is the “grappler”
Trait: I can let go of everything except this one thing, akin to the child who asks his dad to fix the broken toy but who never let go of the toy.

Stage 4: None of me and All of God
This is the “selfless” individual
Trait: Personifies “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21) and “Yet not I that liveth, but Christ liveth in me.” (Gal 2:20)

Point(s) to ponder:
Which stage are you in? Which stage am I in?

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