[This is part of a series on Reinhold Niebuhr's prayer "The Serenity Prayer" (long or full version). This sermon is based on the line, "trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will."]
Abram and Lot stood on the ridge and looked out over the Jordan valley. To the right was the lush plain of the Jordan and to the left were the drier lands of the Canaan region. “Choose which way you want to go,” Abram told his nephew Lot. “If you go to the right then I will go to the left.” Let’s take a moment to see what brought Lot and Abram to this moment.
As you know, we’ve been going through Reinhold Niebuhr’s prayer, “The Serenity Prayer” and so far we’ve looked at:
• God … grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.
• God … grant me the courage to change the things I can.
• God … grant me the wisdom to know the difference.
• Living one day at a time.
• Enjoying one moment at a time.
• Accepting hard as a pathway to peace.
• Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it.
And now, we’re looking at the part of the prayer that says, “Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will.”
All of this started for Abram and Lot when God asked Abram to pack up his family, including his nephew, Lot, and leave his home, leave his country, leave his roots, his kin and head to a land that Abram had never been to before. In fact, he didn’t even know where he was going. God said “Go” and he just “went.” Talk about trusting that God will make all things right if he surrendered to God’s will, amen?
When they came to the region of Canaan, the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land” (Genesis 12:7) … so Abram built an altar to God there at Bethel and then “journeyed on by stages toward the Negeb” (Genesis 12:9). So far, Abram has taken that giant leap and put his total trust in the Lord and it appears that things are going to work out for Abram, except …
A really bad famine strikes the land and Abram decides, in the words of the Bible, to head to Egypt and “reside there as an alien” (Genesis 12:10). Now, let’s pause here for moment. Abram is a shepherd, who are nomadic because of the nature of their work, their livelihood … which is constantly searching for water and good pasture for their sheep. When Abram arrived in the land of Canaan, the Lord appeared to him and said, “Welcome home. Your wandering days are over.” But when the famine came, Abram decided to trust the Egyptians to take care of him and his family. The Bible says that he chose to live as an “alien” … as a non-resident in a foreign land rather that stay on the land, the new home, that God had given him. He was no longer “trusting” that God would take care of him, that God would make all things right if he stayed at the place where God had brought him.
Nor does he trust that God will make all things right, that God will take care of him in Egypt either. In fact, he’s convinced that someone might kill him and steal his beautiful wife, Sarai. You see, in order to “surrender” my will to God’s will, I have to, well, “trust” God, don’t I? Before I let a surgeon operate on me, I want to know his or her background. I want to know that I can trust them before I go under the knife, amen? Does is sound like Abram trusts God here? Listen carefully to what Abram says to Sarai: “I know well that you are a woman beautiful in appearance; and when the Egyptians see you they will say, ‘This is his wife’; then they will kill me, but they will let you live” (Genesis 12:11-12). They will kill me … but they will let you live. Hummm. “Say you are my sister, so that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared on your account” (Genesis 12:13). “Say that you are my sister, so that it may go well with ME because of you, and that MY LIFE be spared on your account.” Again, hummm. Actually, it turns out that what he says if prophetic but in a way that he never could have imagined because, well, God’s ways are not our ways … His thoughts are not our thoughts. Abram’s life is spared, and he becomes very wealthy because of her.
At first, it seems that Abram’s fear is justified. Word of Sarai’s beauty spread all the way to Pharaoh’s ears and when she is brought before him, he is smitten. Thinking that she’s single and available, the Pharaoh, thinking that Abram is her brother, offers Abram sheep, oxen, donkeys, camels, and slaves as a generous … very generous … dowry.
At this point, God has to intervene. You see, surrender usually comes on the heels of defeat. God afflicts Pharaoh and his household with “great plagues” … and when he seeks the source of his misfortune, the Pharaoh learns that Abram has lied to him. “What is this you have done to me?” he demands. “Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife?” (Genesis 12:18-19). Did you hear it? “Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ that I took her” … not hoping to take her but “TOOK her for my wife.” Abram let this charade go so far as to actually let Pharaoh marry his wife out of fear that if the Pharaoh found out the truth he’d have Abram killed … and, again, not such a ridiculous fear. At that point, the Pharaoh could have had Abram killed and kept Sarai as his wife … but amazing things happen when we trust God and when we surrender to His will because, let’s face it, not even Pharaoh’s will is stronger than God’s will, amen? Usually the Pharaoh would have killed someone who deceived him and pulled the kind of shenanigans that Abram did. Instead, he tells Abram, “Go! Take your WIFE and be gone!” … and he even lets Abram keep all the sheep and oxen, donkeys, and slaves that he had given to Abram as a dowry. I mean, think about it. Abram was lucky enough to escape with his life, let alone leave with his wife and all that he had (Genesis 12:20).
What’s even more impressive is not just the fact that Pharaoh spared his life and let him go but that God continued to bless him instead of letting him suffer the consequences of his selfish actions. He brings Abram back to the exact point where he made the wrong decision … Canaan … and gives him a second chance. Not only does God bring him back to Bethel … “the place where his tent had been at the beginning” (Genesis 13:3) … but he and his family are a better off … something that only God could pull off during a severe famine, amen? He is now rich in “livestock, in sliver, and in gold” (Genesis 13:2) and his nephew, Lot, also had flocks and herds and tents (Genesis 12:6) … so much so that things are starting to get crowded. Friction between the two families develops “because the land could not support both of them living together; for their possessions were so great that they could not live together” (Genesis 13:6).
Now … I’ve read a lot of commentaries and heard a lot of sermons and I personally think that poor ol’ Lot gets a bum rap and by giving Lot a bum rap we miss the real significance of what happened.
So … we’re back on the ridge with Abram and Lot … the green fertile plain of the Jordan is visible on the right and the obviously drier lands of Canaan to the left. “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herders and my herders; for we are kindred,” says Abram and he offers his nephew a solution (Genesis 13:8). “Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left” (Genesis 13:9). Lot surveys the land and sees that the plain of Jordan “was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD” (Genesis 13:10).
Now, before we judge either Lot or Abram, there’s some things we should consider. Typically, Lot is portrayed as being a selfish man … but is that fair? Supposed you offered someone a hundred-dollar bill and a ten-dollar bill? Is if fair to get mad at the person for choosing the one-hundred-dollar bill? Abram’s offer seemed pretty sincere: “If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left” (Genesis 13:9). Think about it. God promised this land to Abram … all of it was to be his. He could have kept it all and kept fighting with Lot. He could have told Lot to keep moving on and find his own land … or he could have outright told Lot that he would was going to take the more fertile plain of the Jordan for himself and give Lot the drier land to the west … and that still would have been a generous offer given, as I said, because he didn’t have to share any of his land with Lot. If it isn’t fair for Abram to offer Lot a choice and then get mad when Lot chooses what appears to be the better offer, then it’s not fair for us to judge Lot either, amen?
Another reason that makes me think that Abram’s offer was sincere is the fact that he rescues his nephew when his nephew finds himself caught in the middle of a war between rival clans. After he rescues Lot, Abram “brought back his nephew Lot with his goods, and the women and the people” (Genesis 14:16).
Remember why they made their compromise in the first place. Their possessions, says the Bible, were so great that they could not live together (Genesis 13:6). Looking out over Canaan to the west and the plain of Jordan to the east, Lot was considering all the mouths that he had to feed … human and livestock. Was his choice of the plain of Jordan a selfish one? Or a very practical one? Is it selfish to provide for your family and see them thrive? I don’t think so, do you?
The Bible then mentions a little “foreshadowing,” saying that Lot chose the plain of Jordan “before the LORD had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah” (Genesis 13:10). And, again, so many of the commentaries criticize Lot for choosing to live near Sodom, given the reputation of the people living in Sodom. Well, let’s think about that for minute. What if Lot had chosen to go west instead of east? Then guess who would have had to go east? Abram. And the assumption is that Abram would not have lived near Sodom, but can we assume that? Why does anyone live in or near a big city? Lot could buy and sell in Sodom and, again, take care of his family. Again, I ask … did Lot live near Sodom for selfish reasons? Or for practical reasons? And if he made such a poor or selfish choice, why does God send angels to rescue him and his family when He brings down destruction on Sodom, hum?
“Trusting that [God] will make all things right if we surrender to His will.” Let’s think about that for a moment. “Trusting that [God] will make all things right if we surrender to His will.” Let’s start with the word ‘if,’ shall we? “Trusting that [God] will make all things right IF we surrender to His will” … ‘if’ we surrender, if we give up. Abram surrendered to God’s will when he packed up kin and home and headed off to destinations unknown. When Abram decided to go to Egypt, however, he did not surrender to God’s will and the result was disastrous … until God intervened and brought him back to Bethel … at which point, Abram surrendered … gave up … as evidenced by his surrendering or giving up of his choice when it came time for him and Lot to separate and go their separate ways.
“If” we surrender means that we have a choice. Abram could have chosen not to heed God’s call and move from his ancestral lands. He could have trusted the Lord and chosen to continue his journey towards the Negeb rather than go to Egypt. And, while it appears that he gave up his right to choose whether to go east or west that too … giving up his right to choose … was, in fact, also a choice. Later, he listens to Sarai and chooses to father a child with his wife’s servant, Hagar, than wait and trust the Lord.
Like Abram and Lot, we face choices every day. And, like Abram and Lot, we sometimes choose to go with our intuition, and other times we step out in faith. Here’s the beautiful part. Even when we think that we are trusting in our own intuition … even when we think that we have weighed all the odds and made what we think is an informed decision … ultimately every choice is an act of faith because we can never truly know what’s waiting for us down the road or around the next corner, do we? Lot made what he thought was an informed decision … and found himself caught in the middle of a war. Abram thought that he was being smart when he told Sarai to pretend to be his sister … even if it was to save his own skin. And yet, God pulls him out of Egypt … and He sends Abram to rescue Lot when Lot was taken prisoner in a territorial war between nine kings … one of whom was the king of Sodom and another was the king of Gomorrah … hum … more foreshadowing?
When Lot and Abram are standing on that ridge, the assumption is that Lot didn’t “trust” God and Abram did … but, again, can we make that assumption? Perhaps, like Abram, Lot assumed that God would be with him and his family as they started a new life on the plains of Jordan … all the time thanking God for giving him such a generous and giving uncle. And wasn’t God watching over Lot and his family also? Appears so.
Suppose you and I find ourselves at a crossroad. We can’t see very far down the road to the right or to the left. As we stand there, we weigh our options … there could be lions and tigers and bears if we go right … but there could be lions and tigers and bears if we go left. We could run into nothing if we go one way … we could run into nothing if we go the other way … but in reality, we’re only guessing, aren’t we? We have absolutely no idea what lies down either path, do we?
Eventually we pick a path and off we go. A short way down the path we encounter … a skunk. Whoops! Maybe a badger … or a deer … or a mountain lion … and our first assumption is that we made the wrong choice … but can we make that assumption? Who knows what we might have run into if we had chosen the other path … maybe something worse, like a bear or a poisonous snake or an avalanche. And if we run into nothing at all, whew! … we assume that we made the “right” choice. But did we? Maybe there was nothing down either path but we will never know because we can only know what is on the path that we are on and then only what’s right in front of us or what is right around us. We can’t see around the bend on the path we’re on … could be more forks in the road, more decisions to make, more risks to take.
When Abram and Lot were standing on that ridge looking out over Canaan and the plain of Jordan, there was no right or wrong answer … only one answer … “trust” … trusting that no matter which path either man took, God would be with them and that He would make all things right … like He did for Abram in Egypt.
If Abram went right, God would be with him. If Abram went east, God would be with him. Once Lot has made his choice and Abram is left with the region of Canaan, God speaks to Abram:
“Raise your eyes now, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Rise up, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you” (Genesis 13:14-17).
When you hear this … God saying to Abram, “rise up, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you” (Genesis 13:17) … what do you picture? Abram strolling through the land? Remember … there were already people living there … the Canaanites and Perizzites. When God tells Abram to rise up … to walk through the length and breadth of the land … the image is that of Abram conquering and subduing the land … just as there were people who had to be conquered and subdued when the Hebrew slaves returned to Canaan hundreds of years later and the idea that a sheepherder and nomad like Abram or a group of Hebrew slaves could conquer and occupied a region like Canaan was impossible unless God walked with them, unless God made that possible … but neither Abram nor the Hebrew people would have known that if they didn’t first put their trust in God’s promises and take that first step of faith, amen?
You know, we use the word “righteous” a lot. Let’s pause for a moment to think about what that word means. The root of the word “righteous” is, obviously, “right.” To be “righteous” to do the right thing … no matter how difficult or challenging that might be. Unlike us, whose “righteousness” runs hot and cold, God’s righteous never changes, never waivers. And our faith is built … not on our righteousness or the righteousness of others but on the righteousness of God. As the Apostle Paul astutely observed, our “righteous” doesn’t come from our strict adherence to the law but from our faith in the Giver of the Law … “not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law,” says Paul, “but one that comes through FAITH in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith” (Philippines 3:9; emphasis added) … and my faith is built upon the righteousness of God … that God will make “all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
“My” faith is not righteous because I am righteous. My faith is righteous because my faith is based upon the infallible righteousness of God. My trust is based on my faith that God will make ALL things … ALL things … right. I surrender to God’s will because I trust Him. I surrender to His will because He will make all things right because He is, in the psalmist’s words, righteous … because He loves righteous deeds (Psalm 11:7) … because He is eternal, because His righteousness is also eternal (Psalm 111:3).
Noah had “righteous faith” when he started building an ark when there wasn’t a cloud in the sky … and God has kept His promise to never again flood the earth, amen?
A young David trusted that the LORD would not only protect him but give him the victory over the Philistine’s giant champion, Goliath. “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? … This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand … so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly will know that the … battle is the LORD’s and He will give you into our hand” (1st Samuel 17:26, 46-47).
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah refused to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar’s will … trusting God rather than bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue … only to be thrown into a fiery furnace as a result and subsequently rescued by God without losing a single hair on their heads. Daniel’s faith in a righteous God was again challenged and proven “righteous” … the “right” choice … when he refused to pray to King Darius and survived spending the night in a lions’ den.
Caleb had righteous faith when he believed God’s promise that He would go before them and fight for them in the Promised Land just as He did in Egypt (Deuteronomy 1:30). The very fact that they stood on the banks of the Jordan as a free people about to enter the Promised Land … the land that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob … was proof that God’s word and God’s promises were good … solid. Their experience in the wilderness proved to them that they could wholeheartedly surrender to God’s will and enter the Promised Land because God would lead them and take care of them just as He had been leading them and taking care of them in the wilderness … just as we can wholeheartedly surrender to God’s will because God has been leading us and taking care of us every day in this wilderness, amen?
When God warned the Judeans that the Babylonians were on their way to sack and destroy Jerusalem, God told His prophet, Jeremiah, to do something crazy … and Jeremiah, who had faith in a righteous God … did it. He went and bought two pieces of land because God wanted to let the people of Judea know that houses and fields and vineyards would once again be bought in sold in Judea (Jeremiah 32:15) … and they were 70 years later, amen? And they continue to buy and sell houses and fields and vineyards in Judea today, don’t they?
We need to be very careful, however. When we surrender to God’s will, we must truly surrender. We can’t surrender and then dictate the terms of our surrender. If we’re going to trust Him, then we must do like Abram and Lot and trust Him all the way. If we go to the west, we might find ourselves in the desert … but God will be there. If we go east, we might find ourselves in high cotton but we may have to live near a Sodom or Gomorrah … but God will be there.
Do you, like the Apostle Paul, know … absolutely know … that ALL things … ALL things … work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Then let us pray [the ‘we’ version of The Serenity Prayer].
