Easy

Another year has gone, and a new year has come. 2025, I am expectant for many things this year, but one of my goals is to read the Bible from start to finish all the way through. Although I have already missed days, caught up, and missed more again, I am determined to do it. I have read a lot of the Bible, but never all of it, and not in order. On day 17 of my Bible plan, I came to Genesis 20. I reread this story where Abraham deceives King Abimelech. I have read Genesis many times and am familiar with this one, however, instead of reading, I was listening to it. This part of the story caught my attention: “...And I kept you from sinning against me.”  I immediately stopped whatever cleaning I was doing and pulled out my Bible.

Abraham tricked the King into thinking his wife was his sister, making the king take Sarah as his own. This is wild in its own right. However, God steps in. God speaks to Abimelech, the king, in a dream and says you’re a dead man walking if you sleep with this married woman. The king was innocent, and his intentions were pure. As he begs for his life, God says, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore, I did not let you touch her.” He even lets Abraham, who had done the deceiving, pray for the king, which allows everyone to come out of this situation alive. This 8-verse emotional rollercoaster of a story wrecked me. 

I began to pray this over my kids that God would stop them from sinning against him. He would intervene every moment their flesh took over and renew perseverance to overcome them. I was overwhelmed with the truth that God can stop sin from happening. I always thought it was a human choice. To sin or not, with God's strength, we can resist the temptation to sin, and when we feel we can’t, He will provide a way of escape. But this story reveals a different side. 

While praying for my kids, the Lord began to show me glimpses of me. My life as a child, teenager, and young adult. Revealing how he intervened, protected, shielded, hid, and covered me. Nothing can be done without God's hand involved. I remember being frustrated as a teen, wanting to go crazy and let loose but always being stopped. While I did partake in crazy, God prevented me from going too far. Even when too far is exactly what I was chasing. He shielded me from people who were only there to hurt me. He protected me from the world and, more importantly, me from myself. Before I became sober, he put people in my life that would reel me in and help me control my alcohol intake even when I fought them on it. He has eyes that see everything, the future that would be mine. He developed and walked me through the chaos of immaturity and rebellion. Meanwhile, I spent years thinking he wasn’t there or that he abandoned me. 

I had to drive to Loveland for work a couple of weeks ago. On my drive, I was frustrated with the traffic and kept thinking on the way back down, it would be much better. I was right. When I made my way back to Denver, the traffic was non-existent. I looked across the highway to the other side, where traffic seemed to be 10x worse now. Finally, I could see the reason why a four-car pile-up with one car completely smashed in the middle. I couldn’t see clearly as I had to continue driving, but the smashed car in the middle looked almost identical to my Jeep. If I had delayed just 10 min, I could have been that smashed car in the middle and rushed off to the hospital. We don’t get to see how God saves us daily; we don’t understand why he allows the things he does and why he intervenes when he does. But he sees the whole picture.   

As Christians, our steps are ordered by God, which means he is in control. He is not controlling us like robots, but he controls the outcome. If I make a mistake and disobey, he will autocorrect. He puts all things into motion: the spin of the world, the rising of the sun. He stops the ocean from raging on the land. If He can do all this, He can certainly step in and redirect my path. And for that, I am so grateful. Be encouraged. The God of the universe is looking after you. Find time this week to reconnect with Him, to pause and look at him face to face. Trust that He is not only with you but moving things in your favor. It doesn’t matter the length of time it has been since you have paid attention to you; he hasn’t left, and he won’t go. He loves you more than you could ever know, but take a chance and try to see how much for yourself. Start with this song and see what happens. 

Live Loved,

Jaimee

Song Recommendation: Easy by Mercy Culture Music