Genesis 18:17

New Living Translation

 “Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” the Lord asked.

For Encouragement

People’s opinion. How powerful it is in our lives. It is so powerful it has become one, if not the most decisive, influence in most people’s lives. What do people think about us? What would they say about this? How are they going to receive what we have to say?

If we could dive into people’s minds and know their thoughts, humanity may have become extinct long ago, but we don’t because we are human. If we knew the thoughts some people have about us, we may be tempted to wish them dead. So, thank God for Deuteronomy 29: 29. You are not a murderer.

Since we cannot know what happens in other people’s minds, we hope and are thankful when they reveal their thoughts to us. Nobody tells others about their intimate thoughts, but only when their relationship is deep and robust, with trust as its foundation — the reason we cherish friendship. This confidence is the comfort and reassurance we find in our relationship with God through Jesus, the best friend we could ever have.

In John 15:14-15, Jesus said to His disciples in the Upper Room Discourse:

“You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends since I have told you everything the Father told me.”

Jesus had handpicked His disciples, inviting them to be in His presence and learn from Him. He intended for them to carry His message to the world once His earthly mission was complete (Mark 3:13-15). They had indeed learned well, except for the betrayer. Now, the teacher was about to reveal the depth of their relationship, which had developed from a teacher-student dynamic to an intimate friendship. Jesus had fostered a bond of trust, enabling Him to share everything His Father had shared with Him.

Many years before His earthly mission, Jesus chose another friend in whom He built confidence, Abraham, who did everything He told him to do (Genesis 18:18-19).

Imagine the scene where Abraham saw his three heavenly visitors off after their visit. They pause in the way, and the Pre-incarnate Jesus, one of the three, asks the others:

“Should I hide my plan from Abraham?”

How sweet! How profound!

How did Abraham get to that level of intimacy with God? Go back to Genesis 12 and follow the relationship of the two to this point. And that is not all.

Chapter 22 will reveal more about Abraham’s obedience to the Lord, who called him out of his people and his father’s household (12:1-3) to walk with Him by faith. Why would God keep anything from him, even His plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, where Lot, Abraham’s nephew, lived?

Just as God had called Abraham and the twelve disciples out of the world for a specific purpose, He calls us for the same reason. He yearns for our obedience and trust, as these are the keys that unlock His most intimate thoughts. Do you share this desire? Then walk with Him in obedience and reverence. Psalm 25:14 beautifully encapsulates this sentiment.

“The Lord is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant.”

Shalom