Blessed But Barren

Genesis 15 : 1 - 4, After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." But Abram said, "Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!" And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir." NKJV

If you don't know the story of Abram's life up to this point, I invite you to read Genesis 12 - 15. When God spoke to Abraham, He told him to leave his kindred and to get away from his father's house. We know that Abraham obeyed God; however, he only partially obeyed. He came out and left all of his family behind, except for Lot, his brother's son.

While Abraham walked with God by faith, God blessed him with great possessions and favor. By the time we catch up with Abraham in Genesis 14, he has accumulated much wealth, cattle, and possessions, but he was yet to have an heir. It is here that we see Abraham confronting God about the barrenness in his life.
Although God had blessed Abraham with all the natural blessings he desired, Abraham was not content because his heart's desire and God's promise of giving him a son had not been fulfilled. 

There is a vast difference between being blessed and in being fruitful. In the past, Christians have mistaken the meaning of having the blessings of God. We have taken them to mean that we are fruitful, but that just isn't the case. As we walk with God, His presence becomes so evident in our lives that we begin to receive favor from people. However, this is not a true indicator that we have been obedient to God's will, nor does it mean that we have become fruitful in the Spirit.

Blessings come from walking with God or walking by faith in Christ, but fruitfulness, can only occur one way- through obedient faith, or faith that is followed through with action. We know that Abraham came out, just like God commanded, but he brought Lot with him, and this was disobedience in God's sight. 

You can be a born-again believer, not be obedient to the Lord, and still be blessed. We've already established this truth in the life and story of Abraham. While walking with God by faith, but in disobedience, the blessings flowed into Abraham's life. Even Lot was blessed tremendously because he walked with Abraham for twenty-five years. It is equally important that we see Abraham had a "problem" of lying when it came to his relationship with his wife, Sarah. So we know that, besides the fact that he was disobedient, Abraham also had character flaws.

None of Abraham's weaknesses or sins kept God from calling him out to live a blessed and fruitful life by faith. It really doesn't matter who we were when God called us or what weaknesses or character flaws we have when we come out of bondage to sin... all that matters to God is that we obey and leave behind what He tells us to leave.

Finally, Abraham has gotten to the point in his walk with God that he challenges the Lord about the previous promise He had made to him of having a son of his own. We too, must get to the place, if we're not fully cooperating with God's will, where we begin to apply pressure on God to keep His promise to us about being fruitful in our walk... not just blessed.

Once Abraham confronted God about the barrenness in life of not having the ability to have a son, God began the process of separating Abraham and Lot. One year after they finally separated, Sarah gave birth to Isaac, the son of promise. Through this story, we should get a glimpse of what it really means to be obedient to God and of the result of our obedience. You must know that fruit comes from obedient faith...not our works. Abraham tried to twist God's arm with the birth of Ishmael, but God rejected him because he wasn't the son of promise, but of works.

As I leave you for today, ask yourself this question, "Am I blessed and fruitful?" Now ask the Lord the same question? He will reveal to you whether or not you're being fruitful in the spirit. The Lord has truly blessed the body of Christ, but are we bearing the fruit of obedience?

Lord, Make Me Fruitful,
Pastor Asa Dockery