Who Is Your Lot?

When God asked Abram to leave his country, his people, and his father’s household and go to the land He would show him, Abram did what we all do: he packed Lot, and Lot eventually became an obstacle to Abram’s receiving the land God had promised him.

We come into the Kingdom “new” in Christ, but how many of us pack up the past and bring it along? Lot could be a person, an addiction, a bad attitude. Lot’s are whatever keeps us from advancing in our walk with the Lord, but they’re not what prevent us from starting the journey.

What if God asked us to remove someone or something before coming into the Kingdom? I think most would miss the call if it was contingent on letting their Lot’s walk off to the East before it was time to say goodbye. Instead, God allows us to pack up our family, friends, problems, addictions, hurts and garbage and set off. Just as God took care of Abram’s “Lot,” so will God take care of ours, in His time and His terms.

Sometimes, like Abram, we’re not even aware of the Lot’s in our life. Maybe Lot is our staying “busy.” We don’t know how to say, no, and don’t leave enough time for ourselves. Maybe Lot is our work. We spend too much time there and not enough with our families. Maybe our Lot is the wrong kind of friend. Maybe our Lot is being a victim. Our wounds have defined us, and even though Jesus is offering us a new life, we’re afraid to let go of the shame, pain and anger that defined us for so long?

As we read in Genesis, God didn’t ask Abram to remove Lot, and I think there’s a reason for God’s patience. He sees something greater for us than the immediate struggle to choose what and who to take with us into the Kingdom.

I have a few Lots in my life, and one of them is a person who is preventing me from advancing forward with an urgent family matter. There’s nothing I want more than God to take care of this matter, but it’s beginning to seem that God’s teaching me patience before he’s going to make his move. But, I’m still impatient and I wonder when God’s going to hear my prayer? Doesn’t he know this just isn’t working? Is God going to intervene, and when? Then I question my faith, and questioning our faith is the work of Satan.

We must remind ourselves that even Abram wanted to know with some certainty that things would work out. Its okay to ask, but don’t lose faith if the answer isn’t immediate. In this “instant” text messaging, email world we now live in, it’s even harder than Abram’s time to take time to wait.

But when God finally took Abram out of the tent and told him to count the stars that would come to represent the number of his offspring, he also said, “if, indeed, you can count them.” We’ve no idea the blessings the Lord has given us, and will continue to rain upon us. In the meantime, we should remind ourselves that Lot was the means by which Abram received the promised blessing. We can gain comfort that our Lots might be the pathway to ours.