The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. Genesis 18:1
For a nomad, the heat of the day was the time to rest. Stay out of the sun. Living in Texas where the heat index has been 108 degrees, I understand that concept. So, why did God appear to him then instead of in the cool of the morning or as the sun set and and the desert plains cooled? Perhaps to get Abraham’s attention since no one should have been out and about that time of day. Maybe to see if Abraham would come out in the sweltering heat to offer him hospitality ( which he did).
As I read that passage, I thought about the so called inconvenient times God has called me to do something. Such as stop by a friend’s house and bring her flowers as she recovered from surgery when I was way too busy, or deliver meals to the elderly even though I had a deadline, or go to church and help serve the snacks despite the fact that my back was killing me. How about getting up and getting to church on those cold, rainy days when I’d rather lounge around the house and veg out on a good movie wrapped in a quilt and sipping hot tea.
Sometimes God call us out of our comfort zones to serve Him. He comes at the most importune times, and says “I have something I want you to do.” Our inner soul can shuffle its foot and whine, like a child told to clean his room or take out the trash before they can go play. Or, it can be like Abraham – jump up and go the extra mile to serve.
When Abraham served God, God granted him a blessing. He was promised that he and his wife would bear a child, in spite of their age. What blessings are you and I missing out on if we do not jump up and serve when the Lord calls upon us? Remember when Jesus said if we do things for the least of the poor or hungry or naked, we do it for Him?
Let us vow not to sit comfortably in the shade of our tents and not take the opportunity to go out into the heat of the world. The world needs us out there. God wants us out there because that is where He is working miracles each and every day.
