God called Abraham and gave him clear instructions to leave Harran and go to a country which He was going to show him . He obeyed the voice of God , but then , he saw it good to associate Lot in his journey .
So Abram went , as the Lord had told him ; and Lot went with him ~ Genesis 12:4a NIV
Abram was marked for greatness and God had promised him that he would bless him . “ I will make you into a great nation , and I will bless you ; I will make your name great , and you will be a blessing . I will bless those who bless you , and whoever curses you I will curse ; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you .” ~ Genesis 12:2-3 NIV
When he reached Canaan , the Lord appeared to him and said :
“ To your offspring I will give this land .” So he built an altar there to the Lord , who had appeared to him ~ Genesis 12:7 NIV
From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent , with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east . There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord . Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev . While he was here , famine struck . I believe that he didn ’ t know what to do and so he came up with a plan . This plan was humane and born out of his flesh .
Now there was a famine in the land , and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe . As he was about to enter Egypt , he said to his wife Sarai , “ I know what a beautiful woman you are . When the Egyptians see you , they will say , ‘ This is his wife .’ Then they will kill me but will let you live . Say you are my sister , so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you .” ~ Genesis 12:10-13 NIV
They agreed with each other and as Abraham had predicted , it happened . All this time , Lot was with him . It did not take long though and Abraham was kicked out of Egypt after his ‘ lie ’ was discovered and he went back to Canaan . He wandered around and about until he came back to the place where he had built an altar for the Lord and it ’ s here where he called on the name of the Lord ( Genesis 13:1-4 ). Abram simply retraced his steps back to the place where he had ‘ left ’ God . After he called on the name of the Lord , God intervened , but this time , separation occurred . There arose a serious disagreement between him and Lot and at this point , he discerned the need to separate . What Abraham did was to simply come back to the God who had called him . I believe that by going to Egypt , he had lost track . This is why his stay there was not long considering the fact that he lied to access the land . He had incorporated Lot in his journey and he became an obstacle for him .
One of the greatest prices you are going to have to pay in your walk with God is the price of separation . Your relationship and walk with Him will demand that you separate yourself from some people , habits , your past and every other ‘ Lot ’ you have carried along . No matter how much potential you carry within you , it will remain unrealized unless and until you are ready to pay the price of separation . ‘ Lot ’ is a distraction you don ’ t need in your journey because he can cause you to delay , abort or kill your destiny altogether . ‘ Lot ’ can be an ungodly relationship , bad friends or even relatives who are not acceptable before God ; evil and bad habits that may be in your heart like hatred , bitterness , evil passions , greed , pride , lust , malice , jealousy , envy etc . These are just some examples that can cause God ’ s presence to depart from you , and you and I know that you can never be on the right track if the presence of God is not with you . You need God , there is no shortcut to this .
Your greatness starts and begins with Him and so His presence is a priority – necessity – in your life . Do not allow ‘ Lot ’ to become an obstacle in your life . Many people have aborted their dreams and visions and have watched them go down the drain simply because of tagging ‘ Lot ’ along with them . Sometimes you may think you are in the wilderness , but you must understand that wilderness has its own set period and you are not meant to stay there forever . Great is the possibility that you are still in the wilderness because ‘ Lot ’ is with you . You need to retrace back your steps to where you left God and be reconciled to Him . In His presence , you will surely discern who you need and who you do not need . When Abraham came back to the place where he had built an altar for the Lord , he worshipped Him and it didn ’ t take long before he separated with Lot . God must have given him the wisdom because he was now in the right place . Immediately after separation the heavens opened .
The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him , “ Look around from where you are , to the north and south , to the east and west . All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever . I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth , so that if anyone could count the dust , then your offspring could be counted . Go , walk through the length and breadth of the land , for I am giving it to you .” ~ Genesis 13:14-17 NIV
It ’ s important to examine yourself and look around you . Some people and habits may be hard to shake off especially friends and people close to you , but this could be a fatal trap for you . Don ’ t start scratching your head and wondering where you are going to start , seek the Lord and ask him to clear them for you . You will be surprised to see that God wants to deal with you , not the multitude . You are created for greatness and if you want it to manifest in your life , be ready to pay the price separation .
What harmony is there between Christ and Belial ? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever ? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols ? For we are the temple of the living God . As God has said : “ I will live with them and walk among them , and I will be their God , and they will be my people .” Therefore , “ Come out from them and be separate , says the Lord . Touch no unclean thing , and I will receive you .” And , “ I will be a Father to you , and you will be my sons and daughters , says the Lord Almighty .” ~ 2 Corinthians 6:15-18 NIV
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