My reward

"Do not be afraid, _____. I am your great shield, your very great REWARD."

God is enough. He is the greatest treasure anyone can want and need. I love receiving gifts, bonuses, incentives, prizes and praise for doing something noteworthy or praiseworthy. It feels good. But no reward can exceed this gift of love and selflessness that God gives. :D

Today, I love how God is a God who confronts our sin head on. I love the example of a very subtle lie. One may overlook it, but God caught it. Sarah laughed to herself and thought that it wasn't possible for her to have a child at old age. He asked Abraham why Sarah responded why she did. Sarah replied quickly that she did not laugh (due to being afraid). But God didn't just let it pass, he replied, "YES you did laugh." I thought that was very interesting. God could have possibly understood her doubt...for it was an outrageous event to occur. But he didn't. He confronted her doubt and her lie. He kept her honest.

So far, what I gather about Eve (being deceived by serpent), Abraham lying about Sarah being his sister and Sarah doubting and lying about her fear stemmed from a lack of trust in God. They did not have the faith to believe that God was able to do incredible things in their lives.

I love God's mercy and how he is willing to work with us. We can change God's mind. I love it when Abraham was willing to spare Sodom if there were 50-40-30-10 righteous people. Abraham was bold to ask and God was gracious to spare. Though the ending was not pretty, I saw a loving God during all this.

May God be feared and praised. Amen.