The Long Long Long Long Game

Why not getting exactly what we want is actually amazing

“..for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.”

Genesis 14:16b (NLT)

This is one of my favorite verses.

It’s obscure and probably not often heard outside of its context which you might not recognize.

It’s from one of my other favorite stories in the Bible - the story of Abraham.

God has just asked Abraham to lay out several animals, gruesomely splitting their bodies in halves. As weird as it is, it’s an ancient way to create a binding contract between two parties. (We might think this is barbaric but imagine how dumb Abraham would find signing a piece of paper.) Essentially this kind of agreement says, “If I renege on my end, you can split me in two also.”

I’m sure that Abraham was prepared to walk himself through the animals, after all, who wouldn’t expect God to demand such a promise and agreement? Probably most people still would expect this from God. “Do what I tell you — or ELSE!” There’s probably a good chance Abraham had this view of God too.

But while Abraham’s waiting, it gets dark, and he has a dream/vision in which God speaks to him. God explains that He can be trusted. He won’t ever change his mind - He is going to bless Abraham more than he can ever imagine. But… be prepared, because God is a long game player. It may not seem like God is winning because, He also promises, that Abraham’s descendants are going to be slaves for 400 years in a foreign country. (Basically the time from us to when Luther nailed those 95 thesis to the door.) And the reason he’s going to let them suffer and languish in that? Because he’s waiting for the people groups who currently live in the land to make up their minds about Him.

God isn’t just the god of the Hebrew people, he’s the god of the world. He wants everyone to come back to him and he’s going to make sure they’re good and ready to make their final choice. So he’s not going to rush them, he’s going to wait to see how things play out.

This is hard, it requires super human patience, and also the ability to sit through and view suffering on unimaginable levels.

But God promises that just because it will feel like he’s abandoned Abraham’s people, this can’t be further from the truth. In a way he’s telling Abraham, “I’m telling you this so that generations of people don’t become discouraged.”

He’s waiting.

How often do you hear people say, “I’d believe in God but it’s so hard to watch him do nothing about the suffering in the world! He must not care about us.” (I probably hear this once a week in some form or another.)

Certainly as we look at the awful and terrible things that happen all around us it’s a tempting premise. But we’re normally the star in our own show (or maybe that’s just me) and humanity has been here for a while before us and will be here for a long time after us - we play but a bit part in the grand story of the world. Which isn’t he same as saying you and I don’t matter — we certainly do — but the story really isn’t about us.

So when it feels like things are dragging on, when suffering goes on unmitigated, when corruption seems to flourish - just remember, “the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.” Because destruction will happen, not meted out by my hand or yours, but because living away from God certainly results in the implosion of a life, a community, a culture and whole empires.

We want instant results (How are those New Year’s goals going?), and it’s tempting to want the same kind of instant results with God - but the truth is instant results don’t happen (thankfully) which makes life harder and more confusing, but also full of mercy and grace. There is a lot of time for people to come back, to change their minds, to mend their ways before they truly suffer the consequences of their actions.

God plays the long game, with the Amorites and with you and me. So healing is also hard to see, we forget the ways God has provided and delivered and brought us through. How we get to live lives so beyond what is natural and “normal” — lives full of beautiful community and meaningful relationships. Things may not be perfect yet but hopefully we’re headed towards God and not away.

And after God says all these things to Abraham He does something truly stunning. While Abraham is still in the trance, a smoking fire pot and a torch move between the animals and God makes a promise with Abraham - HE will be the one to be split in two if HE goes back on his promise.

God’s promises of love and freedom for all of us - the good, the bad, the ugly. He wants to win us all to himself, because the story really isn't about me and my salvation but about what God is like and what He’s doing. How He’s bringing this whole crazy story to completion as His Kingdom is revealed and revealed some more through His people.

May we join in this work, patiently standing on God’s side, patiently helping the world to see a new vision of God - one who can be trusted and who’s ways lead to true freedom and life.

With love,

Sierra

______ What I’m reading this week

The Power & The Glory by Graham Greene. This is my book club read this month. I wasn’t excited about it — corruption and a government exterminating all religion and executing priests in Mexico? Ugh…. Cheery.

Weirdly since it’s set against the backdrop of Mexico, with oppressive heat and mosquitos (and everyone’s malaria fever fog) it was a interesting winter read.

The story is about an unnamed priest who’s fleeing the law, and focuses on his crushing self doubt and unworthiness. While I’m not at risk of being hunted by the law, I think anyone who’s in ministry can identify with this plight. “Why me God?” And unlike in our own lives, in the story we begin to see the crazy impact this Whiskey Priest has on everyone he touches - which ultimately reminds us all that God is present with us, even in the darkest places and times of our lives.

Probably my favorite fiction book of 2024! If you read it /have read it I’d love to hear your thoughts!

_______ Weather update

I enjoy hearing about the weather where the author lives in other letters I read. It makes me feel like they’re real in a real space.

Our weather hardly seems real here in Western South Dakota. It was almost -30F here all weekend and into this week. This crushing cold makes me so grateful for indoor spaces (though as a Great Indoors Lady I’m almost always thankful for the indoors). It also makes me realize how wonderful it is to have heat that is so excessive we can heat whole rooms and homes. What cushy lives we live. How amazing.

It doesn’t often occur to me how fragile life is, until faced with extreme temperatures. So I’m grateful for those times that put things into crystal clear focus. And also I’m grateful that this weekend it will break and be in the 40’s for a week. At almost 70 degrees of temperature increase we may be dancing int he streets in bathing suits!