“Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.” Genesis 13:9 NIV
We pick up today’s story when Abram (Abraham) and Lot are about to part ways. Abram is Lot’s uncle. They have been traveling together since God told Abram to move. Now they have arrived in the promised land, there is plenty for both of them. Abram gives Lot the choice of which way he wants to go. Lot chooses the land that looks the best.
Forks in the road happen often in life. We’ve been traveling along with a companion, now it is time to part ways. Sometimes this happens after a short period of time, sometimes after years of traveling together. When I was in undergrad, I felt like every semester I had a new set of friends because of the classes I took. In each class I would have a friend, we would study together, commiserate together, and do life together for that class. When the class ended, we would part ways. Maybe we would have a class together again, maybe we wouldn’t. Our time had come to part ways. Parting from people is inevitable, parting from God is impossible.
Parting from people is inevitable, parting from God is impossible.
The beauty of God is we never have to part from Him. He will be there, just like He was with Abram and Lot, helping us say goodbye. As children grow up and move out of the house, God will help fill the void of their absence. When marriages fail, God is there to pick up the pieces. When death separates us from the ones we love, God is there to comfort us. We find God in the people He places in our lives.
God is in the friend who drops by for coffee when we get home from dropping off our child at college for the first time. God is in the friend who sits up with us all night, listening to us pour out our broken hearts. God is in the people he sends to surround us when we’’ve suffered a heartbreaking loss. God is with us through His people, through His spirit and through His word. We may have to part ways with people, but we never have to part ways with God.
Question of the Day:
How has God been with you as you’ve parted ways with someone?
Further Reading:Genesis 13:5-15:21 NIV, Matthew 4:12-25 NIV, Psalm 6:1-10 NIV, Proverbs 1:20-23 NIV
