Genesis 13:7-9 "And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. (8) And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. (9) Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left."
The Lord continued to bless Abram and all his family. Even his nephew, Lot, was
blessed so abundantly that the land could not support all their livestock. A
decision had to be made. Abram did not want any strife between him and
his family, but he knew they had to part ways at this point. What would he do?
He knew God had a land that had been promised to him. Would he try to decide
which land would be given? Or, would he place the ultimate decision in God's
wisdom and purpose? Abram had already learned how to make the wrong decision
when he had gone down into Egypt. Now we see him leaning heavily upon the
Lord Who was his strength and Director. He placed the decision making
process into the hands of the Lord.
On the surface, it would seem Abram was leaving this to Lot's decision making
process; but in reality, he was trusting the Lord in the entire process. I'm
afraid my tendency might be to be the first one to decide, but Abram let Lot
choose first. If you go left, I will go to the right. If you go right, I
will go to the left. What would be the major factor in Lot's decision?
"And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan,
that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and
Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou
comest unto Zoar." (Genesis 13:10) Lot was walking by sight, whereas
Abram's decision was by faith. We will see later in the book what
happened to the land chosen by Lot.
It can be a very difficult matter to release our natural desires in order to
walk in the ways of the Lord. But we can be assured that true blessings come
when we are in obedient faith unto the Lord God Almighty. I think of the song
by Adelaide Pollard, "Have thine own way, Lord. Have thine own way.
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me after thy will, while I
am waiting yielded and still."