God’s Very Best

So Abram said to Lot: “…If you prefer the left, I will go to the right; if you prefer the right, I will go to the left.” Lot looked about and saw how well watered the whole Jordan Plain was as far as Zoar, like the Lord’s own garden, or like Egypt. Lot, therefore, chose for himself the whole Jordan Plain and set out eastward. Genesis 13:9-11

Abraham was a very rich man. Sometimes when we have a lot of possessions, we want to safeguard it, make sure it is secure. But Abraham was different from most wealthy men. He trusted in God, and he put his future in God’s hands. So when the time came to choose which part of the land he would take, he did not exert his right as one with authority over Lot to get a better portion. He actually let Lot choose, and Lot chose according to what he saw would make him more prosperous. He picked the whole Jordan plain which was well watered and fertile. Abraham moved to Canaan. 

Every day, we all make so many decisions. In business, there are decisions that impact the bottom line and some that are downright bad! In our personal life, we also make good and not so good choices. How can we be more like Abraham, and able to let go and let God? Jim Elliot, an American missionary who gave his life to evangelize the Huaorani people of Ecuador, left me two of my favorite quotations. One is “God gives His very best to those who leave the choice to Him.” The other one is “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Decision making is not simple, but if we choose God, put Him first, we cannot go wrong.