“Trust Issues”

Genesis 12

One particular Friday night I remember staying at grandma’s and grandpa’s house and I woke up in the middle of the night extremely thirsty.  Rather than trust grandma to wake up I snuck out of my crib and in my footie pajamas made my way to the kitchen. Once there, I opened the fridge and took out the full half gallon (in a glass bottle) of orange juice. It must have been very hot, because it instantly accumulated condensation on the outside of the glass container.  With the weight and the water it became slippery and I dropped it, shattering it onto the linoleum.  I froze.  A few seconds (What seemed to me like hours) grandma appeared at the door to the kitchen and her hands flew to her cheeks and she exclaimed, “OH Sparky!” (Her pet name for me.)  Stepping over broken glass and in a large puddle of orange juice she picked me up, carried me to safety and gave me a sippy cup of orange juice from the second bottle in the fridge and sent me back off to bed.  Little did I know then that she would have to stay up and clean up my mess.  I look back now   and realize she did so out of love.

            There was a time that God had to clean up Abram’s mess because he didn’t trust God not once but twice!  In Genesis 12:10 God’s word tells us there was a famine in the land.  So, without consulting God, or trusting he and his wife Sarai would be taken care of by God, they journeyed to Egypt.  Just outside of Egypt, Abram took his wife Sarai aside and told her, “Look, I know you are awesomely hot and if I tell the Egyptians that you’re my wife they’ll fit me for a pair of cement sandals!” (I am paraphrasing a bit for humorous/dramatic effect.) So strike two, he tells his wife to help him lie because he doesn’t trust God to protect him in Egypt.  Strike Three he convinces Pharaoh that Sarai is his sister so Pharaoh gives Abram a bunch of possessions and wealth.  (A dowry, as was the custom and still is in many parts of the world.) So God comes in and says “OH Abry!” (OK, not really!) He does cast a plague on Pharaoh’s household though Pharaoh then sends his guard to escort Abram and Sarai out of the country, allowing them to keep their stuff. (God allowed Pharaohs heart to be lenient for the future of the Hebrew nation) Which means God pulled Abram from the puddle of the proverbial orange juice as it were, and sent him off with a “sippy cup” of wealth cleaning up his mess.  Once again we see that what flawed man meant for evil, God used for good building His kingdom!

Now flash forward a few years.  My first day in Kindergarten.  I trusted my parents would not throw me to the wolves, but I hated it the first few days.  Kids were mean to me because I was left handed, I wrote backwards.  I got in trouble for not staying in the lines when coloring.  But through all of it, I trusted that my parents would be there for me at the end of the day to wipe my tears, give me a hug and help pick me up.

Flash Forward a few years in Abram’s life as well.  (Now called Abraham) God had promised him that He would make his descendants into a great nation.  In Genesis 22 that promise is seemingly called into question when God tells Abraham to sacrifice his one and only son. (Which is a great thread directly to the Messiah!)  Completely trusting God, Abraham obeys without question and is rewarded when at the last minute, God provides a ram.  I do wonder if Isaac had some PTSD after that incident though.  Or maybe it was a story that told his kids.  “Hey boys, did I ever tell you about the time grandpa nearly sacrificed me?”

<sigh> “Yes Dad!!!”