My last blog told the story of how God directed our family away from a lucrative position and lakefront home to a year-round Christian camp. My husband worked there as an intern for one year, during which time we received no income. When the internship ended, the director asked us to join fulltime staff and gave us the go-ahead to raise our own support. Our income, for our family of five, would depend on donors from that time forward.

Months passed. Our financial support team grew little by little; our anxiety grew by leaps and bounds. How will we pay our bills? we wondered. How can we afford dental care and orthodontics? Eyeglasses? Proper footwear for the kids? Ferry tickets? Insurance? Groceries? Gas?

While we fretted, God worked behind-the-scenes. One day Gene received an update about an investment he’d made while receiving an engineer’s salary. His eyes nearly popped when he read the statement. He ducked into his office for a moment, studied our financial records on the computer, and then returned to where I waited in the kitchen. “You’re never gonna believe this,” he said.

Turns out, we’d spent $12,000 from our savings during our internship with no income. Guess how much the investment gained during that period? Exactly $12,000. The revelation bolstered our confidence in God’s ways. I’ll bet He smiled as we gasped at His goodness.

Fifteen years later, we’re still living on faith support and watching God provide. It’s been quite a journey. We no longer try to decipher His strategy. We’re convinced He wants us to trust Him rather than a particular methodology.

Abraham and Sarah also wrestled with God’s ways. Abraham laughed in disbelief when God promised him a son through Sarah. He asked, “How could I become a father at the age of 100? And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?” (Genesis 17:17,18) And Sarah? She laughed silently to herself when told she’d bear a son within a year. She asked, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?” (Gen. 18:12)

God answered their doubts with His own questions: “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?” Then came the clincher: “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” (Gen. 18:14)

The outcome to Abraham and Sarah’s story answers the latter question with a resounding no. Our family’s history does the same. My journey has taught me that God’s methods defy human understanding. Nothing stands in His way when He wants to accomplish a specific purpose or fulfill a promise. Nothing.

Perhaps you sense God asking you to trust Him for something specific, something big today, but fear holds you hostage. My word to you is this: Surrender. Don’t try to decipher God’s ways before saying yes. Human logic is short-sighted. Believe that nothing is too hard for the Lord, do what He’s asked, and then watch out! He’ll boggle your mind.  

 Any insights you’d like to share?

Think about it. Imagine being a friend of God…the Creator of all that exists…the One who calls the stars by name…the One who knows how many hairs are on our heads…the One for whom nothing is impossible. Imagine being His friend…not just a mere acquaintance, but one who has a close and intimate relationship with Him…and that at His invitation! Doesn’t that just boggle your mind?

How is this friendship possible? James 2:22-24 tells us the secret. “He (Abraham) was trusting God so much that he was willing to do whatever God told him to do. His faith was made complete by what he did – his actions. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: ‘Abraham believed God and so God declared him to be righteous. He was even called ‘the friend’ of God. So you see, we are made right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.”

One of the most important aspects of true friendship is trust. If I say my husband is my best friend but I don’t trust him around other women or with our finances, then our friendship leaves a lot to be desired. In the spiritual realm, we can say God is our friend but if we can’t trust Him enough to do what He says, then I don’t really know Him and our friendship is almighty shallow.  

Abraham was a friend of God because he trusted Him implicitly, as revealed by his obedience. When I read these words, something welled up inside me that cried, “I want to be Your friend, too! I want to know Your heart, understand Your ways, know Your secrets. I want intimacy with You!”

The thrill for me lies in knowing that God wants the same thing. He wants it so much that He’s told me what it takes – obedience. Now it’s up to me. How badly do I want to be called His friend? Am I willing to do what it takes?

How does this thought of being called a friend of God impact you?

This morning as I read in Genesis 22, I saw two verses that I’ve not noticed before. That chapter is about Abraham’s infamous test of obedience. He comes through that experience with flying colors. And then he hits a wall. Verse 20 says, “Soon after this, Abraham heard that Milcah, his brother Nahor’s wife, had borne Nahor eight sons. Verse 24 says, “In addition to his eight sons from Milcah, Nahor had four other children from his concubine.”

Why are these verses included? What’s the point anyway? Here’s my thought:

Abraham’s life had not been an easy one. He’d trusted God when He told him to leave everything familiar and go to a strange country. He’d trusted God for a promised son even though it meant more than 20 years of waiting. He’d taken a detour when he slept with Hagar, and later felt the pain of sending her and Ishmael into the wilderness to keep peace with Sarah. Most recently, Abraham had just come through the most challenging experience of his life, when God asked him to be willing to sacrifice Isaac. His actions had proved his faith in God and marked a huge spiritual victory. And then comes verse 20.

“Soon after this, Abraham heard that Milcah , his brother Nahor’s wife, had borne Nahor eight sons.” Add the concubine’s four kids, and the brother has 12 offspring.

How did Abraham feel when he heard that news? He’d been faithful to God, willing to obey to the nth degree, and yet he had only one son by Sarah. Nahor had eight sons by his his wife. I wonder if Abraham compared his situation with Nahor’s and felt a twinge of jealousy. Maybe hearing this news, shortly after his spiritual high, bred some questions: “God, this isn’t fair. I’ve done so much on Your behalf, and yet You’ve blessed my brother more than me. What’s with that?”

It’s common to hit a wall after a spiritual victory. Sometimes we hear of someone else’s blessings and, with a twinge of jealousy, we compare our situation to theirs. Perhaps our faith journey has been more trying than theirs. It seems as though theirs is a stroll down Easy Street while ours is an ongoing trudge through Deep Valley. One glimpse at their situation tells us that they appear more blessed even though we’ve gone through tougher stuff. “What’s with that? It’s not fair, God.”

Yes, I wonder how Abraham felt. Scripture doesn’t tell us, but I have a hunch that he may have struggled a bit. After all, he was human like me and you. I can identify because I’ve struggled with comparison, too.

In the end, though, we have to trust that God knows what He’s doing. He sees the big picture. He’s just and righteous and makes no mistakes.

“God, please keep my (our) eyes on You. Make me aware if I begin comparing my situation with others. Give me a heart that rejoices when others are blessed, and help me trust You for every detail of my life. Amen.”

This morning I read the story of Abraham’s obedience — getting up and moving from the familiar into the unknown simply because God said so. I’ll bet that wasn’t easy. Actually, I know that wasn’t easy for him….you see, we’ve done it a couple or three times ourselves. Despite the angst that often accompanies such a move, there’s a strange sort of peace that goes with it when we recognize that God is the One giving the marching orders, and He’s in control of every detail.

Yes, there are certain times when God demands our obedience in the big things. But He also expects obedience in the little things — like telling the truth, being honest if the grocery clerk give us too much change, refusing to entertain lustful or critical thoughts, and so on. This kind of obedience is do-able no matter how busy our lives get. And it’s critical to our spiritual health.

Any insights out there? How has obedience (or lack thereof) impacted your relationship to God?