The God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob... WOW!

These were all men choosen by God.  At first glance or thought of these names I always seem to think that they were great righteous men and they always must have followed God in order to be choosen and favored by Him.  When you look again and read the book of Genesis like you would read a novel, as a whole, you get a different picture of these men.  They were men who were definately choosen by God not neccesarily men who choose God before He choose them.  I especially see this in Jacob's case.

Abram (later Abraham) was willing to follow God's instructions and believed in the promise that God had given to Abram in Genesis 12 at 75 years of age.  However he felt like he had to lie and get Sarai to lie in order to protect his life when they entered foreign lands twice even though he was in God's will going into these lands.  He had God's promise that he and his seed would posess that land yet he didn't rely fully on God to protect him as he went.  In Chapter 15 God said to Abram in a vision "Fear not, Abram: I am your shield, and your exceeding great reward."  Then God goes on to expand on his promise to Abram.  Even after this promise that God would be Abram's protector he lie's again about Sarai being his sister to protect himself. 

Then in Chapter 16 he gets impatient about the promise that God would give him many decendants and decides that he will have a child through his wife's handmaid instead of waiting for Sarai to have children.  This was not what God had intended.  I know that Sarah was past menopause but with God all things are possible and we can rely on God's word to us.

Abraham had the same tendency that I have... to take a promise from God and try to make it happen instead of letting God unfold it before me.

Even though Abraham did not fully rely on God to fulfill His promise's of protection, prosperity and to be a great nation of people, God did it anyways... Abraham's heart was in the right place.  He wanted to do God's will but was very impatient in the waiting part. 

I want to learn from Abraham's mistakes and fully rely on God and his promises to me the way that God wants them to unfold in my life instead of making them happen in an inferior way... my way.