“Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of they country, and from thy kindred, and from they father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Genesis 12:1-3
Our weekly Christian devotional
“So, how come you don’t want to hang out anymore? Are you too good for us now that you found God?” I pictured the slight curl of Jessie’s upper lip while listening to her voice on the other end of the receiver.
Ugh. She knew just what to say to make feel worse.
“No, it’s not like that.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“Well, I’m doing the math here and since you’ve gotten all ‘Jesus Freaky’ on us, no one has heard from you.” Jessie wasn’t going to let me go without a fight.
It wasn’t that I didn’t miss my old friends from the strip club—I did, terribly. Life without their daily drama seemed about as exciting as plain yogurt.
But, I also knew myself. If I didn’t make a clean break, it wouldn’t be long before I was back in those eight-inch stilettos armed with some amazing justifications for turning back to my drug of choice: My greedy selfishness.
Friends can be good for that. Aren’t they usually the ones we turn to when we need to feel better about not squeezing into our favorite jeans? And, don’t they even have the power to make you feel so great in that moment that you dare putting off your diet until tomorrow?
Oftentimes friendships aren’t built around the truth. Because, quite honestly, most people would rather hear a beautiful lie than bother with facing an ugly reality.
Haven’t you noticed that when you really don’t want to hear the truth, sometimes your ‘friends’ are the first ones you turn to? Why is that? Because personal friends are the ‘experts’ that know just what to say to make us feel good.
Here are some examples of how easily my buddies have swayed me into making poor decisions in the past: After listening to the advice of friend I purchased a Gucci purse that was more than my rent. It took me three billing cycles with interest of almost thirty percent to finally pay that sucker off!
While vacationing in Vegas, a friend pushed ecstasy into my sweaty palm; assuring me that it was fun and perfectly safe. I lost recollection of three whole days of my life. Unfortunately, there are still some incriminating photos of me floating around out there!
And, If only I could take back the countless horrible double dates I endured because of the slick convincing tactics of my some of my girlfriends. After a few of those, I’m shocked that I didn’t give up on men altogether!
Believe me when I say this—I am not blaming my company for my bad choices. I’m only making a simple point very clear: Friends have an amazing power of influence over ‘people pleasers’. They can persuade someone with a disposition like that to do almost anything!
Genesis 12:1-3 reminds us that when we want to make a move for God, it will usually entail turning our lives and hearts in the opposite direction from the path that we are currently on. Although these verses are a hard pill to swallow, the truth of the matter is—when you heed God’s warnings and obey His promptings, there is a reward at the end of it.
Allow me to be the friend that tells you the truth even if it hurts. Because in all actuality, although this won’t make me your ‘favorite’ friend—doing this will make me the best kind of friend you can have.
Abraham was blessed because he was brave enough to listen to God. He gave up all he had and knew for the promise that God spoke to His heart. Today, the world still talks about Abraham.
What promises has God been speaking to your heart? Are you ready for them? Will you be brave enough to trust and obey? If you keep ignoring Him, He just may stop talking.
“Dear Heavenly Father,
I have craved your blessing. I have asked for your favor. But, I keep giving into my cravings for the approval of others.
My heart is convicted. Every time I ignore your convictions, the Bible warns that I am hardening my heart when I ignore them. Eventually, I can even stop hearing from you all together.
Help me, Lord. I’m so scared of being alone. You promised that you would never leave me or forsake me.
If I turn from all that I know, you will be the only friend I have. Help me to be okay with that.
Lord, I’m so sorry that I keep turning to you and then changing my mind and leaving you all over again. I’ve been doing this for so long. I cannot believe your patience and mercy is so great; it is obvious that I have been taking you for granted. Today, I want the madness to finally end. I’m ashamed that I even have to ask you to help me love you. I’m sorry that keep making the choice to love myself more.
Strengthen my heart with the joy of the Lord, and help me to feel your presence every time I read your word. Your friendship is important to me. Help rebuild the intimacy that I have lost with you.
Open up my life with new opportunities and blessed friendships that will draw me closer to you, not further away.
Bless me as I chose to serve you today. Help me to continue making that choice everyday until Jesus returns; because you are so worthy and you’ve waited long enough. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Thank you for reading our weekly Christian devotional on verses: Genesis 12:1-3
Please check back and see what we have for you next week!
Author: Julia Shalom Jordan