One of my most favourite parts is when Abram trusted the Lord's plan
even when he couldn’t see anything.
-
Pat P
I find Abraham's story quite interesting. Both Abram and Abraham
mean father in Hebrew, yet he couldn't have children because his wife was
barren. I'd think that during that time, not being able to have children was a
shameful thing. Yet, Abraham didn't lose faith in the Lord and God found favour
in him.
Imagine when it happens in our lives. When we couldn't get the
person we love, when we couldn't get the job we want, when we couldn't get the
results we want from uni. Can we still have faith like Abraham? Never leaving
God and keep walking with Him? Believing that He will provide in the best time
that He only knows?
Sometimes we are too afraid of society and their standards. I'm less
than others because I'm 25 and still single. Sometimes I feel like finding a gf
just because I don't want to be single and feel miserable. But Abraham's story
reminds me that God doesn't work according to the society and its standards. He
knows what's best for us and it might not be the same as others, or might be
just different timing. So rather than rushing
and taking matters into our own hands, it's better to trust Him and follow His
guidance. It might be hard and might take a while but faith is a battle and the
only way to win is to persevere in God's way!
-
Mario WP
So many times while reading Abraham's story I kept feeling the
strong instinct of self that we all feel when doing some of the things Abraham
did, particularly with his son's sacrifice, it was a nail biter!
I remember all those times I’ve had those same thoughts and took the
opportunity to try taking matters into my hands or to pray for an outcome I
desired only for it to lead to a decision I regret making all because I did not
trust like Abraham did.
-
Terence W
In the story of Abraham, we note that he is a desert nomad and head
of a pastoral tribe. So Abraham and his tribe would move from one place to
another looking for pasture.
If anyone has visited or lived in the Middle East, you will see that
the land is largely rocky, barren and unforgiving. It's a tough place to live.
Given this difficult desert environment, I think it is not
surprising that Abraham exhibits strong faith and determination. He was tested
in the toughest of arenas. So when God called, it is not surprising he respond
with faith in casting out Ishmael and offering Isaac.
The desert environment may also explain the reason for his
exhibitions of kindness and hospitality. I mean, if I lived in such a harsh
environment I would feel a sense of duty to provide hospitality to travellers
or strangers who are moving through this unforgiving territory. This is
exampled by his hospitality to the three angels, giving Lot first choice of
land and his intercession for the people of Sodom.
How do we learn from Abraham's story? We don't live in the desert
and have that to teach us and don't have to necessarily fend for our lives.
However, we all have mosquitoes flying around us, challenging our faith in Gods
will and His divine plan.
A strong faith is not something that happens overnight (unless you
are very special). To expect anything more from ourselves will only lead to
harmful and needless self-criticism.
Faith (as with most things) accumulates over time as we each travel
on our journeys. Each time we are tested, we must strengthen our faith. We will
fall but the trick is to always rise and rise again.
We may start off at different levels in our faith journey, but we
should all be aiming to cultivate a faith like our man Abraham!
-
Surath F
On Sending Hagar and Ishmael Away (Genesis 21)
Interesting how God told Abraham to let Hagar go. I mean, Abraham is
a responsible guy, he wouldn't just let his wife and kid go to the wilderness
and die there. But God basically told him not to worry, because he'll take care
of them. Abraham needed only to trust Him.
And it strikes me today, especially after the Friends of Refugees
activities, that sometimes we feel helpless or we just want to fulfil all their
needs, but I guess we always have to remember that we're only human there's
just so much we can do. We can only try out best and let God handle the rest.
-
Mario WP
On Esau and his Wives (Genesis 26, 28, 33)
Esau changed from being a vengeful brother to a loving one so
drastically. It’s like he was a different person. I imagined when they were
reunited, Jacob was like, “Is this really my brother? How come he’s so different?
Is he planning something?” So he got scared and didn’t want to go together with
him. But apparently, Esau really did change and he was being genuine to his
brother.
So I tried to think about what had changed during those times, and I
noticed something: Esau was married to Hittites when he was vengeful, then
after he got married to the daughter of Ishmael, he completely changed into a
loving brother. Just like what God kept saying in the Old Testament, the wife
did affect the husband. In the first glance, the bible seems to be sexist and
mostly just show the men as the main figures, but implicitly, all the women are
pictured as powerful figures, just like mother Mary and Esau’s wife. They might
be physically weaker, but they have enough power to influence all the guys.
So be careful on using your power, women, and be wise in choosing your
partner, my fellow brothers.
-
Mario WP
If only choosing a spouse was as easy as how Abraham’s servant found
Rebekah!
But more than just being careful in “choosing”, what’s more
important is praying for our future spouse. Who knows, they may be going
through a hard time right now, or they may be feeling lonely. I always pray
that God draws him closer to Him. I don’t care if I don’t meet him ASAP, as
long as that guy meets God. And pray also that they draw strength from God to
resist temptation, to keep them safe, and protect them from harm! They may even
be heartbroken right now, or even simple things such as they may be down with a
cold or have an important presentation at work. Who knows?
But one thing I know for sure, even if we haven’t met them yet, our
prayers can reach them.
-
Pat P
I oftentimes question myself: do I really want the option to choose who it is? Or do I just choose to obey God and let Him do the "selection part"?
-
Pat P
As for whether we let God choose or we choose for ourselves, I'd
like to think of it as God puts the limitation and he's our counsellor. We ask
his opinion on every decision, but we're the one making the decision because
it's the privilege God has given to us (free will).
Of course, just like when we counsel to someone, we have to truly
discern what God told us to do and make decisions based on that. We can't say He’s
our counsellor if we never seek counsel from Him.
-
Mario WP
The thought that free will is a privilege really stands out it ties
into so much of what we discussed about living in a world where bad and tragic
things happen because of free will where we do not choose to listen to our
counsellor especially with so much noise temptations and distractions in this
time.
-
Terence W
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