Trust God With the Left or the Right

So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”

Genesis 13:8-9 NIV

Yes, Abram was the bigger man. Yes, he let Lot choose first. But let's not miss the reason Abram could do that. Abram, soon to be renamed Abraham, believed that God would provide for him wherever he went. 

Think about this: God provided for him and protected him in Egypt. I don't think he was really trusting God when he lied about Sarai, his wife being his sister just to protect his own skin (Genesis 12:10-20). God protected him and provided for him despite Abrahams attempt at dealing with the situation by his own means. He learned that God is Sovereign and able to deal with even Pharaohs. 

What this means for us is that we can trust God to provide for us and even bless us no matter where we are at. We can trust God with the right or the left. Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that may look like we got the desert while the other person got the garden of the Lord. As we see in chapter 14 Lot ends up escaping with the clothes on his back, while the Lord continues to bless Abraham. Lot was looking to the world to fulfill his needs while Abraham was learning to trust in the Lord. He believed that God would take care of him whether he went left or right. 

We should seek God. We should ask the Lord for wisdom and try to make the best decision we can. Proverbs 3:5-6 instructs us to, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." A professor of mine once said that it was sort of like the Lord going before us with a bulldozer. We seek God the best we can and trust him with the results. If we go to the left, he is there. If we go to the right, he is there. 

Where are you? Do you have a choice of going left or right? Did someone else already choose the "good side" and leave you with the not so good option? Remember, the important thing is that you trust God. He will protect you and provide for you, making your paths straight. You can trust him with the left or the right.