August 13, 2026

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I AM, God Almighty. Walk before Me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make My covenant between Me and you, and I will greatly increase your numbers.’” (Genesis 17.1-2)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Sometimes, the hardest thing about patience is being patient. Does that sound redundant? Perhaps it does. Then again, if we add that all important element to the understanding of “being patient,” which is trust,” then we may be better able to grasp why having patience is so difficult. Trust is not something that is easily accommodated or practiced. It takes a great deal of character and mental strength, if not courage, to have trust and build trust and put trust in others. We may think it is easy because we say “trust me,” but do we truly trust ourselves? Or is that something we say because we want others to do for us what we may not be able to do for them. Now, let’s put that in context to the life of Abram to date. We do not know, if you remember, the back story to Abram’s first true encounter with God. Abram worshipped among the Babylonians and Chaldeans who were polytheistic. They worshipped many gods, even if it was only one god at a time. They were aligned with “the stars” in a pantheon of religion. It is from this culture and climate that we get the office of magi. (They didn’t just appear in the birth narrative of Jesus according to the Gospel of Matthew.) Perhaps it was that Abram was worshipping the primary God of his era, and God spoke to him in that season. It is suggested that the “god” of that day was a bull. (In today’s astrology, that would be Taurus.) Regardless, Abram heard the voice and the word of God. He listened to it and put his trust in it. How much trust becomes a matter of debate as his story tells us from the time he arrived in Haran to the place where Hagar bore him a son who was called Ishmael. Was Abram truly trusting and patient? We can go back and review his departure from Haran, his departure into Egypt, his lie to Pharaoh concerning his life, his decision to offer Lot the choice of the Promised Land, his submitting to Sarai’s wish for him to impregnate Hagar which led to surrendering Hagar’s life to Sarai’s jealousy. It doesn’t feel much like trusting God for His protection and provision. It certainly didn’t feel like patience and patient endurance. Obviously, Abram still had much to learn and practice in these areas. God knew that. God also knew Abram had the potential of being trusted. God knew it would take time. (What I have learned from this story in the years past is this: Trust is given. Mistrust is earned. Most people learned it this way: Trust is earned. Mistrust is inevitable.)

Time is a key element to this part of Abram’s story. We may not see it so quickly in today’s modern culture, but it is there if we have an eye to what we can learn from Judaism. In specific, I am speaking of the thirteen years which passed from the birth of Ishmael until God appeared again to Abram and reconfirmed the promise and blessing which had first been given him twenty-four years prior. A lot had happened in Abram’s life in that time. Some might say, “a lot of living happened.” They would be correct. Half of that, however, happened after Ishmael was born. Then the day came when Ishmael would be known “as a man.” It would be on his thirteenth birthday. In Jewish tradition, this would be the year of Bar-mitzvah. Of course, there was no such practice yet because there were no Jews and there was no Judaism. Still, other cultures practiced such rites of passage. It was time for Ishmael to go through his own welcome into manhood. His would not be an easy life as a man of the world. God had foretold his legacy when rescuing Hagar from the wilderness where she had been sent by Sarai as a type of scapegoat. God had other plans. He had other plans for Hagar, for Sarai and for Abram. It was on that day, that celebration of Ishmael’s “coming of age,” that God spoke to Abram again and laid out the conditions of their covenental relationship.

Conditions? What, you thought God’s love was unconditional? Yes, as we have reflected on before, God loves everyone. His love endures forever. His love is transformative. It is full of mercy and grace. God’s love, however, is not enabling nor entitling. Still, God is true to His word when it is given. We saw that in the saving of Ishmael and the promise conferred on descendants (as it was for Abram) to be numerous as the stars in the heavens and the grains of sand by the sea. However, the fullness of that promise and blessing is realized by the trust humans put in God with their obedience and service which God fully describes by word and action. If we do not, then we cannot. It is not that God withholds but that we keep ourselves from. This is what Abram must learn. As his obligation to Ishmael is now fulfilled (teaching him the way in which he should go so that he will not wander far from it), so his obligation again returns to God to be found faithful. In that transaction, the covenant can be realized. I would dare say, it is the same for us today.

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 endeavor, but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.