A favorable relationship with God
“If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by.” (Genesis 18:3)
How would you describe your current relationship with God? Are you mad at God? Are you scared of God? Indifferent toward God? Do you find that you can talk to God just like you talk to your Grandma or Grandpa?
The background to our verse for this week is the Old Testament hero of faith, Abraham, was sitting outside his tent (home) when three visitors appeared before him. At first he didn’t recognize them, but still showed them humility and hospitality with the words of our verse for this week. As the story unfolds, we are told that Abraham is given a message that the almost 100 year old Abraham and the nearly 90 year old Sarah would be having a child within a year. The same Abraham who had shown incredible faith in God in previous encounters, does the same here – even though he didn’t at first know that it was God or his messengers.
If you reread the previous paragraph, you will note that there are two words which probably jump out at you in defining Abraham’s relationship with God – humility and faith.
Are those words which you would use to describe your relationship with God? Do you have confidence God can and will handle every situation in your life and yet a humility which recognizes that you are deserving of nothing from God?
That is a very difficult road to navigate and a very difficult balance to maintain. Our human nature is prone to think we don’t need God at all and can do it on our own. Then the very next moment Satan drags us into despair, thinking that we are horrible and worthless.
There is only one way to have a favorable relationship with God which helps us to maintain the balance of faith and humility. That is by having an ongoing relationship with God in his Word and Sacraments. Just like human relationships on earth take work and require ongoing contact, a spiritual relationship with God is not achieved by sporadic, insincere contact.
One of the purposes of these weekly devotions is to help you, first of, all in the care of your own soul. They are intended to give you regular contact with God through his Word to give you a favorable relationship with God in all the situations of life. If you do find yourself in a favorable relationship with God at this time, is there someone in your life or someone you know that you could also share these devotions with that you could help them obtain that same relationship with God that you have?
May God continue to bless you as you seek to have a favorable relationship with him and also seek to bring others to have the blessings of having a similar relationship with God!