Genesis 11:31: “And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there.”

September 26th, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

The New Testament tells us that Abraham received a call from God while he lived in Ur, a city that was located in the southeast corner of what is today Iraq, 75 miles north of the Kuwaiti border. In Abraham’s time, it was on the delta where the Euphrates River emptied into the Persian Gulf. It was a bustling seaport, and the intellectual center of the day. Archaeologists uncovered a large public library that contained thousands of ancient texts written in clay. When Abraham left there, he traveled along the Euphrates River to the city of Haran, a crossroads in northern Mesopotamia.

We don’t have a lot of information, but the book of Joshua does tell us that Abraham’s past was one of serving false idols: “And Joshua said to all the people, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods” ’ ” (Josh. 24:2). It is at first kind of shocking to read that Abraham was from a long line of idol-worshiping heathens in Mesopotamia. But the truth is we all have a past that isn’t really that much different from Abraham’s. We might not have served stone gods or worshiped the stars but we were all trapped in the same darkness that enveloped the life of Abraham. So we need to rejoice that we now serve the God who can reach into the blackest heart and turn on the light of His presence. He can take a hopeless and barren life and turn it into a life of faith and grace.

Regardless of where we come from or what baggage we carry in with us, God is able. God is able to come to where we are and change us. God can make anyone a worshiper of the true God. No one is beyond His touch. God loves us so much He will confuse our plans and stop us in our tracks. He does that when His children start to think they are in control. It may not seem like an act of mercy at the time, but it is. Sometimes the worst thing that can happen to us is for us to get our own way. Occasionally God will let us get what we want and leave us to deal with the results. God isn’t anti-planning or anti-accomplishment. God doesn’t enjoy confusing our plans, but He does oppose the human pride we usually attach to our plans. God can thwart the biggest plans of the most powerful people in the world. The flip side is that God can multiply the smallest effort of the life that’s surrendered to Him. He’s able to use the most significant effort and multiply it way beyond our efforts. Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). How much is God a part of your life?

“LORD, we believe what You said, that without You we can do nothing. So please, LORD, lead us today in Your plans for us.”