“About this time, Abimelech came with Phicol, his army commander, to visit Abraham. “God is obviously with you, helping you in everything you do,” Abimelech said.” Genesis 21:22
The world just simply doesn’t know what to do with us as believers in Christ. It seems that the more they try to mock us or swindle us, we just get stronger and better and such was the case with Abraham and Issac in Genesis Chapter 21.
Issac, the long awaited son of Abraham and Sarah was finally born and to celebrate him being weaned from his mother, Abraham called for a big celebration. The name Issac literally means “he laughs” in Hebrew, but it was no laughing matter for Sarah when Ishmael began to mock and make fun of Issac on such a momentous occasion.
In much the same way today, the world tries hard to make fun of believers in Jesus Christ and seemingly do everything they can to portray Christians in a silly light. What is it that they are so concerned about regarding believers that would cause them to want to do this?
Simply put, the world is jealous. Think about it for a moment. When saying “the world”, I’m simply referring to the world system, which is predominately controlled by Satan, whom the Bible refers to in Ephesians as the “prince of the air” and in John as the “ruler of this world.” He himself was so jealous of the favor and authority that God had given Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, that he deceived them thus robbing their birthright. His plan was successful for a time, until Jesus won back that favor and authority for us through the cross.
Abraham was the blood line, stretching from Adam, that God would use to bring His Son into the earth in order to right this deceptive wrong, and He did it through a covenant agreement. Even in spite of Abraham’s occasional missteps, this covenant of blessing was working so strongly in his life, that he was multiplying in every direction. Now, Issac was in line to become that covenant recipient as well and as such, he was mocked and made fun of by Ishmael.
At this same time, we see that Abimelech, an ungodly king came out to make a covenant with Abraham of his own. He wanted to strike a deal with Abraham because he saw how blessed Abraham had become. Sometimes, the world recognizes the favor of God on us quicker and more often than we do. The world may be puzzled about how to deal with us, but we should not underestimate what the covenant favor of God can and will do in and through our lives if we will stand on it.
Recently I had some business to take care of in the beautiful historic downtown area of New Bern NC, where many of the homes and buildings there date back to the seventeen and eighteen hundreds. Having some time to kill, I stopped in to grab a quick bite to eat at a well known deli in one of these historic buildings just across from the beautiful waterfront area. As I was sitting there, a Catholic Priest walked in. It was obvious that he was a regular, due to the warm reception he received from the staff and by the way he placed his order. As he turned toward me it was like meeting my long lost brother. His youthfulness, smile, and fitness reminded me of some of the chaplains I met while in the Marine Corps.
As he held out his hand and introduced himself to me, the air in that deli became electric as he and I began to converse about the goodness of God. In no time at all he had pulled up a chair at my table as we sat there and talked about how believers in Christ and the Holy Spirit in us, are the only hope for the world. At first thought one might consider us to be an odd couple, but as we sat there together we had one of the best conversations, and I can truly say I made a friend that day.
I had told the waitress when I came in, to leave my ticket open because I was going to be meeting with someone a little later and they might want something to eat as well. She just assumed that the priest was that person and was so surprised when she discovered that we had just met for the first time. It wasn’t as if we were causing a scene, but it was obvious to the world around us that something good was going on at that table and didn’t know exactly what to make of us, in a good way.
As a child of the Most High God, there is something really special about you and the world around you knows it. God wants us to live and walk in that same recognition, not for our glory, but for his.
Today’s Thought: As the world around us takes note of the covenant blessing of God on our lives, He is Glorified!