Refuge Audio Podcast

Life is messy, and yet God is gracious. Life is messy, and yet God is good. Life is messy, and yet God is real.

“In the midst of our mess” has become a familiar phrase as we’ve been working though the book of Genesis. We’ve seen sweeping landscapes of creation, redemption, history, poetry, prophecy…and odd personalities that mirror our own. Personalities like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Real men from real messed up families.

And yet, in the midst of their mess, God is gracious, good, and real. And we find encouragement in that. If God was good, gracious, and real in the midst of their mess, then God will be (and is) good, gracious, and real in the midst of our messes—for God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

God can and will reach into any messed up family and, by His grace, bless and help and lead and guide and heal and strengthen and sovereignly accomplish His purpose—just as we saw in our study of Genesis 29 & 30 this past Sunday.

Here’s a story of a really messed up family led by a man who was messed up more than most. And yet in the midst of this mess—this crazy mess—God enters in by His grace and blesses the mess Jacob found himself in.

“Behold, I am with you…”

–Genesis 28:15

There it is! That glorious phase, that glorious gift when God says, “I am with you.”

”I am with you…” in the midst of your mess, Jacob…heal catcher…schemer…sinner.

”I am with you. I never left you and I will never leave you. I will fulfill my promises to you. I will complete the work—the good work that I began in you.”

Isn’t God good? Isn’t God gracious when He meets with us in the midst of our mess and says the same to us? That glorious and gracious promise—“I am with you and I will be with you always, even to the end of the age.”

God’s presence in your life is not based upon your performance. It is based upon His promise. He is with you always…even to the end of the age.

In our last study in Genesis, we left off with God speaking to Isaac directly—“Don’t be afraid, Isaac. I am with you. I will bless you and I will multiply your descendants for my servant Abraham’s sake.” (Genesis 26:24).

Isaac—a man of faith called by God to walk in courageous faithfulness and lead his family in courageous faithfulness. And he did, but just for a season. Isaac honored his history and heritage as a man of faith, as the son of promise, living in the land of promise as a pilgrim and a worshipper. He enjoyed a season of such spiritual significance that even old unbelieving enemies took notice. Enemies like Abimelech who came to Isaac and said, “We have certainly seen that the Lord is with you.” (Genesis 26:28).

And then, something changes in the next chapter of Isaac’s life. God and the things of God grow strangely dim to Isaac—and it affects not only him, but also infects his entire family.

Have you enjoyed a season of spiritual significance like Isaac? Maybe you’re still in that season—if so, stay diligent! Keep digging up the old wells of prayer and fasting and faith, and the Word, and the power of the Holy Spirit—these are sources of refreshment for you to draw from, not just once but continually.

Maybe your season of spiritual significance is in the past. What’s happened? Have you suddenly slipped or was it a slow slide? Perhaps you were once defined by courageous faithfulness and sacrificial service our of the overflow of your fellowship with God…but then something happened. God and the things of God grew strangely dim, just like in the eyes of Isaac in Genesis 27.

It’s a difficult chapter to study. It’s never pleasant to see a family once full of faith fall apart because of their own earthly appetites. But there are valuable lessons we can learn from a careful and cautious examination of this family. Even still, God is willing and wanting to reach down into the midst of your mess, open up those wells for you, and bring to into a new season of spiritual significance

We were reminded in Genesis 20 that the Lord is merciful and gracious. Sometimes He gives us a symbol to remind us that He is merciful and gracious.

But He is also mysterious—His ways are not our ways. Sometimes His ways confound us. Sometimes, His ways seem to contradict His character. He has His own purposes. The Lord gives…and then takes away—sometimes without any explanation. Still, sometimes we wonder, “God, how could You be good and allow this to happen?”

In those moments, at those times, our faith and trust and belief that God is good and worthy to be obeyed is tested.

Will you still trust Him? Will you still love Him? Will you still obey Him…even if you don’t understand Him?

Abraham, who has failed in trusting God…in loving God…in obeying God…will encounter another test in Genesis 21. What is it that God is going to ask of Abraham? What is the significance? And why would it tempt Abraham to question the character of God?