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Hello <<First Name>> <<Last Name>>,
The networking event a week ago was amazing! Thank you to everyone who came out! Here's a short post on what God did that night. We also have a new face at DoubtLess Faith. Catalina is joining us as a writer and speaker and we are so excited to have her join the team! You can learn more about Catalina from her bio on our website and be on the look out for her next post in a few weeks!
With the end of the year rolling around, you may be looking for opportunities to make tax deductible donations. Please consider supporting DoubtLess Faith ministries as we have many exciting things coming in the New Year! To see what your donation will go to and make a tax deductible donation from PayPal visit our website!
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Genesis 14 has some pretty remarkable imagery. Here we see Abram’s faith in God lived out once again. In earlier chapters we see Abram trust God by moving his whole family to a foreign land not knowing what is in store, and in this chapter we see Abram defend the promise that God has given. War breaks out amongst the kings of Canaan, verses 9-11 tell us that a group of four kings win this battle against five other kings, so we know that these four kings have powerful armies. Abram’s nephew Lot, along with many others, is carried off as a captive of war. Abram has a decision to make, he can live in fear and do nothing to save his nephew and the other captives, or he can trust God’s promise that this land has been given to him and boldly seek to right what these four kings have made wrong.
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Abram chooses the latter; he gathers his man and boldly pursues the offending kings. Scripture tells us he chases them as far as Dan, roughly 600 miles away, which is not an easy pursuit given this was done on foot or camel back. Once the battle takes place he chases them north of Damascus which is roughly another 285 miles, so that they will no longer be an issue for the people of Canaan. After routing the offending kings, Abram “recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people” (v. 16).
When Abram returns home, the previously defeated kings greet him warmly. Melchizedek, king of Salem, blesses Abram and praises God for the victory, while the king of Sodom offers Abram all the goods that he brought back as a reward for defeating their enemies. Abram has another choice to make. He can follow the king of Sodom’s lead and take the glory for himself or he can follow the king of Salem’s lead and give God the credit. Rather than soaking up the praise and accepting the gifts, Abram gives God the credit, praising God for the victory, and refuses to accept the reward so that his success in the future can be fully God’s credit and not attributed to the generosity of these grateful kings.
God’s provision is evident in these passages. Not only did God protect Abram by allowing Lot to pick the less safe area in chapter 13, but God also provides for Abram’s success in battle against a much larger opponent. Abram clearly trusts in God’s provision as he steps out in faith when injustice has occurred but his trust is even more clear in that he refuses material reward because he trusts that God will provide for him and his family.
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Bud brick gate complex at Dan, that Abraham would have used to enter the city.
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Trusting God isn’t always safe and it doesn’t always lead to immediate gratification. Abram did not know how the battle would turn out and although the material rewards from the kings would have made him an even richer man, Abram chose to trust God and give God the opportunity to flex His muscles and make Abram who God wanted him to be. Often times we are given opportunities to trust God or trust ourselves and how we chose in those moments affects our witness to the people around us. When we have success we can give God the credit or we can take the credit for ourselves. When situations occur we can chose to see God’s hand of provision in them or we can despair in the difficulty of the events that surround us. How we walk out the painful and prosperous parts of our lives speaks volumes about what we believe about God. So what situations in your life is God trying to use to grow you? Are you giving God the credit for the provision in the good times and are you trusting God for His provision in the difficult times? I am grateful for God’s provision, because it is not my efforts that allow me to be speaking into your lives today, but God’s grace and generosity that He would allow me to come alongside Him in sharing who He is with you.
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Text by: Kristen Davis
Photos from
http://promisedlandtours.blogspot.com/2012/08/tel-dan-part-3.html
http://rbedrosian.com/Maps/sh26_6_7.htm
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