April 7, 2022

Rev. Dr. Teaira Parker

God Pulled A Bait and Switch ~ Genesis 17:1-8

I gave real thought to what the title to my life movie would be.  God pulled a bait and switch seems to be the theme I come up with through every major transition in my life.  I wanted to go to law school, and I ended up in seminary.  I emphatically told God I did not want to be a pastor and now I am a senior pastor.  I told God I wanted to live in the sun drenched south.  You can probably guess…I don’t.  I live in New Jersey.  When I looked at the scripture assigned to me, I thought it was divine providence.  How appropriate that I get to speak about a man who was promised to be the father to nations, and this man, during his lifetime, struggled to have one child.  How often do we tell God what we want, and God tells us we can have it, but we don’t like the way we receive it?  God is not a man that God shall lie.  What God promises us, we will receive.  Whether that be today or thirty years down the line, God’s promises are unyielding.  Our job is to remain faithful to God and the process.

Reflection: Is it really a bait and switch if you got what you asked for?