IF and THEN
Posted by Dion Todd July 15th, 2021 5,516 Views 0 Comments
Now Yahweh said to Abram, "Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. Genesis 12:1'2 WEB.
Abram came to a crossroads in his life where he had to make a radical choice: to follow God's path or to continue on where he was. Following God meant that he would have to leave his hometown, abandon the life he had been building, and leave his family and relatives behind. Abram would have inherited part of his father Terah's property, so he had every reason to stay where he was.
Yet the Lord had given Abram a promise that required action. It was a choice. The Lord told Abram to leave his father's house and country and go to the land that He would show him. Then He would bless Abram and make him into a great nation. So Abram had to take that first step to make that dream happen. Abram chose to move, then God fulfilled His promises to him, just as He had said.
Scripture uses a code very similar to the one we use in computer programing, the "if and then." Many of the Lord's promises come with an "IF you do this, THEN I will do that" like these:
"IF My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, THEN I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14).
"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it" (Malachi 3:10).
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7).
"Give, and it will be given unto you" (Luke 6:38).
"Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 7:12).
Delight yourself in the LORD, And He will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4).
All of these promises are conditional and depend on us doing something first. If we do the first part, then the Lord will do the second part.
His plan often comes to us one step at a time, and we are not given step two until we complete step one. Sometimes God gives us a dream or a promise which requires an action on our part, but nothing will happen until we take that first step. Abram would have never lived out his destiny if he hadn't chosen to put God's will first.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I want all that You have for me. If I've overlooked a step I should have taken in the past, please bring it to my attention. Remind me again of anything that I have missed and make Your will clear to me. I want Your way, and I want to follow Your path today. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!
Note: Ladies, today is Thankful Thursday at the "Ladies in Distress" group (our RHM women's group)! You are welcome to join in our weekly sharing of thankfulness for the Lord's presence and any blessings you may have experienced, big or small! "Ladies in Distress" is a private group, so if you have any problems joining, just post anywhere and we will help you :). Here is the link: Ladies in Distress
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