Father Abraham had many fears

image from http://tidbitsandtinkerings.com

Indulge me - please sing with me….

Father Abraham had many fears,

Many fears had Father Abraham,

I know some of them.

And so do you.

So let’s just talk them out.

One lie…..

Two lies…..

Father Abraham had many fears…..

Yup it is true. That man, our father of faith, was still beset with fears. So how could a man, so graced with faith, have fear?

Here is a man, who has talked to God one on one. Here is a man, who has promises from God. Here is a man, who has translated this faith in his God, packed up his family, chattels and possessions, and walked out of his known home, the land of his fathers, started a journey into the great big bad world, into where God will show him, to take it into possession, for himself and his descendants - as numerous as the stars - with a barren, but beautiful wife to boot. Total obedience. Faith in action. Trust.

Abraham believed in God. He believed in God’s promises to him. What fears could he possibly have had?

What is fear by the way? Google response is, an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm. The synonyms are many. Fear has many names, to describe its unpleasantness. Fear is a feeling -which sometimes is evidenced by action.

How did this work with Abraham. He lied. About his wife - not being his wife. Recorded twice in the bible – could have been more times that are unrecorded. Strange huh?

What led him to tell this lie? What was his thought process, his feelings in these instance? Would he have used any of the words above to describe his unpleasant emotions?

Consider, that a major factor in the fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham were linked to his having offspring, and thus on his having a wife. Did he think that if he let go off his wife, and he averted the danger he thought he was in, at least he would still be alive, and perhaps a new wife would be availed to him to bear offspring with? Did he think that he needed to save his own life for the sake of the promises? Did it mean that after trusting God, giving up all he had given up, doing all he had done, he could not let God get him out of his presenting troubles at each point?

The promise was alive. Very alive to Abraham. He knew because God had said it, it was true, and would happen. He had faith in God. But still. But yet. Disquiet. Not peace.

What was the source of Abraham’s lack of peace? Where did Abraham get his fear from? Experience? What experiences? Who had been killed before, so his beautiful wife would be snatched up? Had anyone tried to kill Abraham before, because of his beautiful wife? I do not know. He knew death happened for people had died. And when they were dead, the bore no descendants. Fear of premature death? Far greater than the faith he had of what he was promised? Of the promises not being fulfilled? Of all he had trothed all for naught?

What leads me to my fears? Which of my experiences have led me here? Am I willing to go into my experiences, into my past and find the cause?

Mothers of Sons – a workbook I am working through, says, “Problems or challenges have roots and shoots. Sometimes we focus on the fruit hanging on the shoots and do nothing about the roots. Identify the root of your problems and deal with it. Learning, or unlearning from the past, the roots is important.”

A person I care about once told me, “I am not going back into the past. I cannot go back into the past. The past is gone and doesn’t matter now.” Yet they were and still are visibly struggling with issues from their past, their experiences, that are roots to their problems today, so that they are unable to function optimally in their life. So that they are making decisions and coping out of fear.

Fear. Of death. Of current perception of self.

Fear. Of death. Of goals? Promises?

I wonder if Abraham ever gained freedom from that fear, found peace, as he grew into the name God had called him to – from Abram to Abraham. I’m sure he did. For despite it all, Abraham believed the Lord, and God credited it to him as righteousness [Genesis 15:6 NIV].

I am in good company.

Comments

What Madam requires

https://www.vectorstock.com I work as a domestic for my Madam. I look after Madam’s big family and her big house. I tend to Madams big garden and her big cars. For Madam – everything must be big. She herself is big. She is also big on ambition – both professionally and domestically. Which is where I come in. Today I had a review with my Madam. And she reminded me of her expectations and requirements regarding my performance. Some requirements were new, some she was just recapping. In my own words and in no particular order let me tell you what my Madam expects. My Madam requires; I am all-knowing. I must know everything that happened during my watch - where the bumps on the children came from and where her yellow, blue and green scarf is. She wore it yesterday and left it in the laundry basket. I am omnipotent - all powerful, invincible and able to do what is inhuman...

Of panty lines and such other

Truth be told, as one woman to another, your panty line cutting across your baytock is not a pleasant sight. True story. And no, I am not jealous. Truly, I really do not care that you have a big bum. And yes, my backside is minuscule, a peanut of a derriere. I am not well endowed in my nether regions. And still I am not jealous. Lets talk about us, the small haunched women. As the world goes gaga over the well endowed grogan ciandas, we too have drooled [in an appreciation of God’s creation kind of way and not on a sexual orientation manner], coveted those mahagas. We have each come to the realisations that, “my fundamentals is small ya?” We have told ourselves that “not all good things come in big packages” and “small is good too”. And with that admission has come acceptance and soon an appreciation for our pint sized rear My bottom is small. And to add injury to insult, it has a b...

Gal, before you get hitched....

Yeee!! You are getting married. Marriage is beautiful. You are in for a great ride!! Exhilarating and thrilling. Here is what I think you should know...... Marriage is an official arrangement. That demands some bureaucratic process and hunting for certificates and signatures from various authorities. Parking your backside on a man’s 4x6 bed and squeezing your underwear next to his in the bag hanging off the mobile wardrobe door is not a marriage. Even if you have four children. And it does not matter what the constitution says. Marriage happens when a man publicly stands up and says it has happened. Until that day, you are just a woman he sexes, a woman who bears his children, but is not good enough to marry. Before you marry, you know nothing about marriage. You have watched marriages. You have read about it. You have gone for pre-mar...

I will write on my table

I am a creature of habits and routines. Some good, some nasty, some neither here nor there – Rouge Deck thing with a crimson pool, that I nearly took a tumble into. Future wise words to self – wear flats on deck. lukewarm, which I hear is reviled in some quarters. One thing is, I do not often go into some spaces. Like the food, fashion and furniture affair at the DusitD2 space – nice, with its with its Rouge Deck thing with a crimson pool, that I nearly took a tumble into. Future wise words to self – wear flats on deck. Food was good. The mushroom fritter like bites dipped in a ricotta and something and dip were divine. I shamelessly munched on them in bunches of three. I told the bites distributer to via me every 5 minutes. Very obedient. I stopped counting at their fourth stop. Meanwhile, I was informed that the word divine is bougie bougie and to stop using it tout de suite. I did. Will never speak i...

Once upon a time you had a friend

Once upon a time you had a friend. And you were good friends. Then, like some good things, the friendship came to an end. There was no dramatic fallout between you. No hurled insults and abuses. No nothing like that. Just a longer time to respond to a greeting, and an increasing number of missed calls. And time. Time happened in between you. Sometimes you think about things from the other side of the friendship. And wonder if it was a deliberate decision to move on. But then you reason, it doesn’t really matter why the friendship ended, what is important is the fact that, once it was there, and then it was not. Then months later, or maybe years later, your former good friend turns up, and attempts to slide back into your life with a ‘Hello Stranger! How have you been?” smiley kind of electronic message. And you are thinking, “Stranger? Me? You stopped engaging in calls, sms or emails. You c...

not yet punditik

Search This Blog