As we face difficult decisions, one thing we can be confident in is that if we stay obedient to God, we will be blessed. One decision might lead us down a path with more trials than other options, but as long as we flee from what is evil and cling to what is good, we will make it through the trials and find blessings.

A great example of this can be found in Genesis 13. Abraham and his nephew Lot had been traveling together for quite some time, following God after God had called Abraham. By chapter 13 we read about how both Lot and Abraham had accumulated wealth and large families. There began to be quarreling amongst their herdsmen.

Abraham knew the quarreling needed to stop and decided it would be best if him and Lot went their separate ways. To the east was a land well-watered and fertile – it was bound to produce a bountiful harvest and fatten the herd. But in the east, there were also wicked and sinful cities - Sodom and Gomorrah. To the west the land was much less fertile and had fewer rivers. Abraham approached Lot and gave him the choice saying, “If you go to the left, I will go to the right. If you go to the right, I will go to the left.” Lot chose the fertile land to the east which left Abraham with the less desired land to the west.

Now it might be easy to think, “Abraham why would you let Lot chose? If you can see the land is more favorable, why wouldn’t you claim it for you and your family?”. I think it comes down to obedience. While Abraham could see that the land to the east was more favorable from an agricultural standpoint, he could also see that there were wicked nations living there - nations God had commanded Abraham not to interact with. I do believe that if Lot had chosen the land to the west, that Abraham would have gone east. However, Abraham knew that while the land to the east was fertile, his family would face many more tests and trials living near such wicked cities.

Abraham gave Lot the choice because he knew which ever direction his family ended up going, they would be obedient to God, and they would be blessed. In verses 14 and 15 of this chapter we see God blessing Abraham once Lot departs from him and promising that ALL the land Abraham could see (to the East and the West) would one day belong to his descendants.

So friends, as you make decisions, move forward in confidence knowing that whichever path you take, as long as you seek God and are obedient to his word, you will find blessings.