Hey God, Can We Talk? I Want to Be Closer to Youနမူနာ

Day Three: Being Committed to Participating   

Yesterday we looked at the different ways God has initiated various conversations and activities with us. Today, we will look at the proper ways to respond to God by checking out the conversation that Abram had with God in Gene­sis 17; and we see some interesting dialogue. 

To begin with, God shows up in Abram’s life when Abram is 99 years old. Right away, He talks with Abram—for 16 verses. In these verses, God uses the word “covenant” nine times. This is significant because it demonstrates the importance that God places on His relationship and commitment with Abram. 

Commitment is an essential ingredi­ent for cultivating a deep and connected relationship. Not only does God emphasize covenant and commitment in these verses, but He also changes Abram’s name to Abraham to match the future that God has for Abraham. This change denotes the fruitfulness that will characterize Abraham’s growing fam­ily. It is again noteworthy to consider that as Abraham’s inti­macy and connection with God grow, his name and identity change. To be sure, the closer the relationship we have with God, the more our identity can change to become more closely aligned with our divine design!

On the heels of such positive input, God tells Abraham that he is required to circumcise all the males in his household. In this directive, God is communicating to Abraham that he is a participant in this relationship, not merely a spectator or a recipient. True intimacy requires participation and engage­ment with both parties involved in the relationship. Intimacy and connection are not sustained, nor do they grow, if both participants do not contribute to the relationship.

Once God communicates with Abraham about His cov­enant, changes Abraham’s name, and reveals the circum­cision requirement, Abraham makes an internal reply and an external expression. Despite possibly knowing the proper religious etiquette with God, Abraham was honest and fell on his face and laughed (verse 17). Sometimes the stuff that God says to us can seem really far-fetched. Sometimes we struggle to believe that God’s promises are real and powerful, and sometimes we find it challenging to agree that God is even better than what we think about Him on a sunny day. Sometimes there is an internal conflict in what we think versus what we hear from God. And to this end, I am grateful that Abraham was honest about this internal struggle. 

Furthermore, I appreciate that Abraham attempted to help God resolve the infertility challenge with Sarah, his wife, by proposing that Ishmael could be his offspring (verse 18). But God does not need our help, as we can see from God’s reply to Abraham. In this conversation, we see the back and forth nature between God and Abraham as they discuss not only God’s promise to Abraham but also Abraham’s willingness to change and agree with God’s plans. I am very grateful to have the dialogue between God and Abraham documented because it permits me to step into some simi­lar conversations with God about various impossibilities, the future, and God’s plans!

As we finish this plan, we can see the incremen­tal progress in Abraham’s intimacy with God. This process begins in Genesis 15 with the covenant activities that Abram does, continues into Genesis 17 and the covenant conversa­tion with God, and culminates in Genesis 18 with an incred­ible dinner and subsequent conversation with God. Let’s stay on God’s page and remain committed to a vibrant and growing intimacy with Him!

Reflection: What is an incremental step you could take to be more committed and participatory in your relationship with God? 

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