I really hate making mistakes. I’m sure that there aren’t very many people who like messing up. However, I know that I’m going to make mistakes in my life. It’s part of being human. I suppose the most important part about making mistakes is learning from them. This can be hard to do if we spend a lot of time regretting the mistakes we make. Before I was saved, I think I hated the mistakes I made because I thought I looked stupid and my pride couldn’t handle it. I suppose the way we view mistakes in ourselves reflects how we see them in other people. As a Christian, I’m thankful for the grace of God that allows me to make mistakes and move on from them. 

These were some of my thoughts today when I was thinking about Abraham’s visit to Gerar. When Abraham visits Gerar, he’s fearful for his life and tells the people there his wife Sarah is his sister. Abraham lies to the people there because he was afraid they’d kill him because of his wife. He thought they’d kill him to be with Sarah (Genesis 20:10-11). Although the king of Gerar does take Sarah, the Lord comes to him in a dream and warns him that he’s in danger of dying because of what he’s done because Sarah is married (Genesis 20:3). Abimelech explains to the Lord that he didn’t knowingly do anything wrong when he took Sarah, and the Lord tells him, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her” (Genesis 20:6 NIV). The Lord also tells Abimelech to return Sarah to Abraham and have him pray for him (Abimelech).

What’s so notable about this incident with Abraham, Sarah, and Abimelech isn’t that Abraham lied to Abimelech, it’s that Abraham’s lie could have prevented the nation of Israel from being born. If you’re like me, you don’t like that statement because of what God said to Abraham. 

Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.

Genesis 17:19 (NIV)

God also told Abraham that Isaac would be born within a year of his most recent visit to him. God told Abraham this right before Abraham went to Gerar, where Sarah was taken by Abimelech because Abraham lied to him. The gestation period for a human is about nine months or so. The timeline God gave Abraham then didn’t have a lot of room in it for all of this stuff to happen and still have Isaac be born. What if Abimelech had impregnated Sarah? 

We know Abraham to be a man of faith. However, I don’t think we can say that he faithfully gave up Sarah knowing nothing would happen to her. Else, he could have just as easily not lied because his faith would tell him that he couldn’t die before God’s promise was fulfilled. No, I think Abraham lied because he was afraid of being murdered. That’s what Scripture tells us.

Does the idea bother you then that Abraham could have messed everything up? Perhaps it doesn’t. Perhaps you are shaking your head and saying Abraham couldn’t mess it up because it would make God out to be less than God. That’s good because that’s right. God made Abraham a promise, and He cannot lie.

Why then are we bothered when we make mistakes thinking we can disrupt the plans of God? If you and I, mere mortals, could disrupt the plans of God, then He couldn’t be God, and our faith and all we believe would be for naught. 

Perhaps being worried about making mistakes before any mistakes are made is just something I do. If so, then this is a word just for me. Praise the Lord! Perhaps I’m the only person to be concerned about that mistake I made messing things up? If so, Praise the Lord! 

Now, it’s not a bad thing to want to do things without making mistakes, and like anything we might be concerned about, we should take it to the Lord in prayer. However, when that mistake is made, and everything looks like it’s going to come crashing down, remember the Lord. Remember His grace. Remember that you can learn from the mistake that’s been made. That mistake you made was part of God’s plan for your life. It wasn’t a mistake to God.

In this story about Abraham, Sarah, and Abimelech we see God stepping in and intervening. God goes to a Gentile and stops him from sinning against Him. Despite Abraham’s actions that could have prevented the nation of Israel from ever coming to pass, God’s will prevails, and His timing is perfect.

Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.

Genesis 21:2 (NIV)

Remember that God’s will prevails, and even when you make a mistake, it wasn’t a mistake that God didn’t account for when He made the plan for your life. That mistake is built right into His plan, and you wouldn’t be you if you hadn’t made it.

Do you know God? God knows you, and He loves you. He sees you as significant because you are. No one is insignificant to Him. He’s with you today, right now, and He wants you to know Him. Jesus died for your sins and mine so we could be free of guilt, be freed from death, and live eternally with Him. Eternal salvation is just a prayer away. 

Pray this prayer with me to accept the gift of salvation today:

Lord Jesus, forgive me for all my sins. I repent from my ways. Wash me in your blood and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I believe that you died on the cross, were buried, and on the third day, God the Father raised you from the dead. Right now, Lord Jesus, I open the door to my heart, and I receive you into my heart as my Lord and personal Savior. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, then congratulations! You are on the first step of a brand new life. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to my family, the family of God. There are abundant resources available online for new Christians. You can visit here for more information on what to do next. You can also leave me a comment, and I’ll do my best to help you on the next step of this incredible journey.

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