Fri.’s Devo -Trials Lead to Great Blessings

Read: Genesis 12-15
Job was from the land of Uz which was Noah’s grandson. Abram came about four to six generations later according to 1 Chronicles 1:-20-28. I’m sure Abram knew the story of Job.
God called Abram out of his father’s land into a new land and promised to make a great nation from him. He was 75 years old and his wife, Sarai and his nephew, Lot and his servants went with him. Genesis 12:10 tells us that the very first famine hit the land. Famines were a sign of man’s sin. Because of the famine, Abram went to Egypt for food. Egypt means “double straits”. If they weren’t in bad enough straights as it was. Every time Abram went into Egypt Sarai was taken from him and it was not a good thing. Abraham had told Sarai to lie for him because of her beauty and because Abram wanted to save his own soul. Sure enough, she was taken for her beauty (at the age of 80!). God rescued her with a plague because Abram was too weak to do it himself. Abram was driven out of the country and goes back to where he started and this time makes an altar and calls out to the Lord. That is what he should have done the first time. We, like Abram, some times learn the hard way first before we cry out to God for help. We could save ourselves some time and heartache if we just prayed first.
Abram and Lot parted ways because their servants couldn’t share the land without arguing. Lot chose what looked the best and the easiest and once he was gone, God gave Abram all of the land, even Lot’s. He commanded Abram to walk through the land because one day Joshua was going to come and claim it all. Our job is to walk out our salvation and claim the land God has given us, because one day our Joshua, Jesus, is going to place the sole of his foot back on the earth (Rev. 10:2) and it is all going to be ours.
Abram receives a great promise from God and is immediately thrown into warfare. Five ungodly nations have come against four ungodly nations and Lot has been taken as spoil. Abram takes his measly 318 men and fights the five nations and recovers Lot and all the spoil. Abram knew God was with him and nothing was impossible for him. Afterwards he is blessed to meet one of the most controversial mystical people in the Bible…Melchizedek. Abram honored him with a tenth of all he had and had communion with him. Then Abram refused the temptation of receiving a reward from the king of Sodom because he stood for evil. Gifts from the Devil always come with strings attached.
God blessed Abram with a promise of a son and his belief made him righteous. It is our faith that makes us righteous, not our own goodness.
Lord, help us to have faith in every word you say because You are faithful. You never leave us and with You all things are possible.