July 14, 2026:

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.” (Genesis 13.1-2)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

The situation in Egypt and the Negev and the rest of what would be called the Middle East today, did not change in the time that Abram went down to Egypt and back to the Negev. Abram did. Perhaps it was the confidence he had gained knowing that God had provided a mercy and delivered his wife out of the hands of Pharaoh. Maybe it was the energy knowing that he had made a real bad decision and had been spared the heartbreak of losing his wife, the most beautiful woman in the land. I can think of a number of scenarios that could have erupted from what Abram did and did not do. The bottom line is that Abram and Sarai and all that was theirs was returned to them without delay. Pharaoh was spared as well and the reputation of Abram would have increased. What did increase is that he became “wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.” Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves and think that all of this happened because of Abram’s faith, skill or luck. Abram’s increase came from the promise of God. Abram violated the promise by going where he was not lead. He went out of survival and not obedience. He returned to the Negev surviving and determined to be obedient. It is in that commitment to obedience that causes the true increase. We may not see the increase as Abram did in material possessions. Our increase may be in the opportunities to share the Word of God, give sacrificially to someone else in sustaining them and giving them hope or being a witness of faithful endurance through difficult times. These were the hallmarks of the faithful of Israel and of the Church. That some were blessed with material possessions is true, then and now. The purpose must not be confused, however, as it often is. The bounty of such possessions is the storehouse for times of lean not only in your own house but in the house of others. That would be the story of Joseph centuries later in somewhat the same conditions.

God anticipates the blessing to be a blessing and manifests it without fail. God will not fail us. We can most certainly fail God. That is a storyline that thrives within scripture from start to finish. What exceeds that storyline is the thriving of God’s mercy and grace. He extends mercy where none should exist. He pours out grace to confirm His mercy and the promise He has made. Mighty ones of God, we may fail Him from time to time (and for some of us more often than that), but God will not fail us if we repent, return and be reconciled to our purpose and place in His Kingdom for which we were made.

TODAY’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.