Genesis 13 Devotional

Nothing Lost by Trusting

“for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever.”Genesis 13:15 (BSB)

When the herds of Abram and Lot grow too large for the land to support them both, quarrels break out between their herdsmen. Abram, the one who received the promise, gives Lot first choice (13:8-9). Lot looks out at the well-watered plain of the Jordan and takes it, pitching his tents toward Sodom, a city the chapter marks as deeply wicked before the LORD (13:12-13).

Abram is left with what remains, and then God speaks. He tells Abram to look north, south, east and west, because all the land he can see will belong to him and his offspring forever, and to walk through it (13:14-17). Abram did not need to grab, because the land was never Lot's to take or Abram's to secure. It was God's to give. Jesus said the meek will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). Because God keeps his promises, you can afford to be generous, even when someone else takes the better-looking portion.

To think about: Where are you tempted to grab for yourself what God has promised to give?