When reading the Bible, it is important to pay attention to the small details of the stories. Often, those details are the point.
For example, in Genesis 13 Abram (or “Abraham” as he is more well known) and his nephew Lot have a problem. Their flocks and herds have become so large that the land cannot support both of them, so Abram comes up with a plan.
He said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarrelling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine … Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right. If you go to the right, I’ll go to the left” (verses 8 and 9).
Did you catch the small, but very important detail? If you miss it, then you will miss a big part of the lesson and example of Abram.
Abram allowed Lot to choose the land that he wanted.
That detail is important because that is not the normal procedure. Abram is the oldest, therefore, the choice should have been his. Instead, he defers to his nephew.
Abram does this because he has learned that God is looking after him and that he does not have to control every aspect of his life. In fact, his entire life is an example of that principle.
When we meet Abram, God tells him to leave his home, but he does not tell him exactly where he is going. Abram goes anyway (Genesis 12:1 to 3). God then leads him through the Promised Land, down to Egypt and back to the Promised Land.
None of this is Abram’s choice. He is simply following God’s instructions and doing what he is told to do. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that he would give over to Lot when choosing where they were going to live. By letting Lot choose, he is actually trusting that God will continue to look after him and give him what he needs.
I need more of that kind of faith. I need to worry less and trust more. If I really believed that God was watching over me and I did not have to control everything, I think I would have a happier and more peaceful life.
Who knows what God might do in us, through us and around us if we would just get out of his way?
