Abram did the right thing and went
to rescue Lot. When he returned from his victory, the King of Sodom
came out to meet him as well as Melchizedek, the king of Salem and
a priest of God Most High. Melchizedek brought him bread and wine
and blessed Abram with this blessing:
"Blessed be Abram by God Most
High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High,
Who has helped you conquer your enemies." Genesis 14:19,
20
How wonderful. Immediately praises
were given to God for helping Abram. God sent one of His priests to
proclaim a blessing over Abram at a time when he was most probably
tired after the battle. God also provided food for Abram through
Melchizedek. God looked after Abram on a spiritual as well as a
physical side. Abram recognised this blessing from God and in turn
gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered.
Then Abram was offered goods as
well:
"The king of Sodom told him,
"Give back my people who were captured. But you may keep for
yourself all the goods you have recovered." Genesis 14:21
But Abram refused.
"I have solemnly promised the
Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will not
take as much as a single thread or sandal thong from you. Otherwise
you might say, "I am the one who made Abram rich!" Genesis 14:22,
23
What a wonderful man. He wanted all
the honour to go to God. He wanted God to get all the praises for
making him rich and not the ungodly king of Sodom. Abram didn't
think only of himself, but he looked at his actions and thought how
he could please God and be a testimony to His greatness.
We should do the same. We should
not think of what is best for us, but what is best for His Kingdom
and His Glory. We should give honour to God where it is due.
We shouldn't think that we are so
healthy because we drink all the right supplements, we shouldn't
think that we are so wealthy because we work so hard, we shouldn't
think that we are successful businessmen just because we did the
right marketing, we shouldn't think that we are such great
sportsmen because we train so hard and have all the right coaches
etc. God is the One that keeps us healthy, He is the One helping in
our business and He is the One making us successful. Of course we
should look after our health, of course we should work hard and do
the right marketing, of course we should train hard and get the
best coaches possible, but give the honour to where it is due.
Without God, we are nothing. Without God we won't even be able to
get out of bed. He is in control, He is our Lord and Saviour and He
should get all the honour and glory due to Him.
We praise Your Name.
Father we praise Your glorious
Name. We know that without You we are nothing. All the success in
our lives is because of You and we honour You for that today. Even
when we are at a low point You are there as well and we honour You
for the work You are doing in our lives. In Jesus' Name. Amen