ONE UTTERLY BELIEVING PERSON
Romans 3:3-4a: “What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all!”
“People are so rude!” Cassie’s mom quipped while steering their grocery cart past another cart parked in the middle of the aisle. She said it pretty loud, so Cassie looked at the faces of the couple.
The man looked agitated. Cassie smiled at him. The man said, “Wellll, excuuuse me!”
Cassie asked innocently, “Aren’t we supposed to drive our carts in the grocery store like our cars on the highway?”
The man jerked his cart to the right side of the aisle, behind Cassie’s cart. “Happy now?” he asked sarcastically.
“Yes, thank you!” Cassie happily replied.
Cassie’s soft response melted the tension, and the woman smiled at Cassie.
It takes just one person to create a problem. And it takes only one person to diffuse anger. God watches these encounters. Individuals make a world of difference in our world every day.
God watched Sodom thousands of years ago. Sodom was past rude. Sodom was downright evil. God was sorry that He allowed Sodom to thrive. He vowed to utterly destroy Sodom—to wipe it and everyone living there off the face of the earth.
Abraham had a problem with God’s plan. His problem was that his brother Lot lived in Sodom. Abraham did something that no one had ever done: Abraham prayed to God to spare Sodom from destruction. Check out the lesson, linked below.
God heard Abraham’s prayer and actually considered his plea. Genesis 18:17 shows God’s mercy: “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?”
Abraham remained before God after the three men departed. Abraham asked God, “Will You sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will You really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, … Will not the judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:23, 25).
Take Home Nugget
God replied to Abraham, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole city for their sake.”
Abraham negotiated further until finally God said, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.” (Genesis 18:26-32).
God left Abraham then. Doesn’t our heavenly Father sometimes act like an earthly dad? “Okay, okay,” haven’t you heard dad say, “We will go out for ice cream! Now leave me alone!”
The point is that it only takes one Believer to change everything with prayer.
Believer, ask. Believer, seek. God opens the door when Believers knock!
Adapted from Streams in the Desert devotion by L. B. Cowman on June 26, 2016. www.StreamsInTheDesert.com
J.D. Griffith
Here’s an eBook by J.D. Griffith:
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