January 8- Trust God

Genesis 18:16-19:38
Matthew 6:25-7:14
Psalm 8:1-9
Proverbs 2:6-15

In the One Year Bible there is an interesting (and strange) story in Genesis about Lot and his daughters. The story tells of two young women who had lost their husbands and were forced to "think outside the box" when it came to having children. The ladies, unable to find a suitable mate, turn to the next best option (naturally) and decide to sin as a way to resolve the complicated dilemma (for a more PG-13 explanation, see Genesis 19). When I concluded the story in Genesis, the One Year Bible took me to Matthew 6 (the Sermon on the Mount) and began with the words "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life." As I read those words, I thought about what got Lot into the predicament he was in. Someone (specifically Lot's daughters) didn't trust God. Here two ladies worried so much about the lives they "might not have," that they wasted the lives that they did have. No one in their right mind would do what these women did. Yet, Lot's daughters sunk to a new low, because of fear, worry, and a lack of trust. Stories like these remind us of those faithful Biblical heroes who chose the high ground in difficult times. Mary had the opposite problem of Lot's daughters. In Mary's case, she was pregnant with a child for righteous reasons, yet her world was being turned upside down. Mary trusted in God and he delivered her out of the crisis. Two stories about having children, one with individuals making horrible decisions, the other with a person making wise decisions. What is the difference between the stories? Trust towards God!