Day 8

Well turns out I have been lame at doing this everyday...But I am going to keep trying. I have skipped day 7 because it was a day of reflection and prayer. So...on to day 8!


Genesis 15-17

"Sarai said to Abram, "God has not seen fit to let me have a child. Sleep with my maid. Maybe I can get a family from her." Abram agreed to do what Sarai said"

later...

"And Sarai your wife: Don't call her Sarai any longer; call her Sarah. I'll bless her - yes! I'll give you a son by her! Oh, how I'll bless her! Nations will come from her; kings of nations will come from her."

This is crazy to me. Here Sarah, despite Gods promises to Abraham to bless him, doubts God. Doubts that she will ever be able to have children, and does something drastic. She has her maid sleep with the man she loves. Like WHAT!? I wouldn't want a girl to be calling the man I love, much less sharing in our most intimate moment. But she's desperate I guess. So her maid sleeps with Abraham and sure enough the maid gets pregnant. But rather than condemning Sarah and her maid, God not only promises the maid a large family and comforts her, but he also promises to bless Sarah! He doesn't yell at her, doesn't scold her, doesn't punish her, he blesses her!

Question: What is your response to the way God works in this passage? Basically...He is showing us what he is all about. In this passage there are promises, there are blessings, and there is comfort. Mixed in with that there is also, betrayal, sinning, and anger. But God works through it all.

Psalm 7

"I'm feeling so fit, so safe: made right, kept right..."

I love how in the message version, Psalms sometimes sounds like rapping. It really makes it flow and makes it hit you. This Psalm has such raw honesty. David tells God at one point "If my hands are really that dirty, let them get me, walk all over me, leave me flat on my face in the dirt." David knows what he deserves if he has really acted so badly, but he also knows what he deserves if he hasn't when he says "I'm ready, confident in your verdict: Innocent". David closes my thanking and praising God. How often do we close the terrors and blessings of the day by praising and thanking God?