God's Promises Stand Despite Our Imperfections

You may look at your life and think you have made too many mistakes for God to use you. Maybe you have been afraid. Maybe you made decisions you knew were wrong. Maybe somebody told you that you would never amount to anything.

But let me tell you something. God knows everything about you. He knows the good, the bad, and the ugly. And when God calls you, your imperfections do not surprise Him.

I want you to look at Abraham. God called him, blessed him, and gave him a promise. But Abraham was not a perfect man. And that is something we need to understand.

Can God Still Bless You When You Make Mistakes?

Yes, God can continue working in your life despite your mistakes because His calling is not based on your perfection.

Look at Genesis 12:1. God told Abraham to leave his country, his relatives, and his father's household and go to a land that He would show him.

Abraham obeyed. He left with his wife Sarah, his nephew Lot, and the people and possessions in his household. He believed God enough to start walking without knowing everything that was ahead.

But something happened after Abraham arrived in the land. There was a famine, and Abraham went down into Egypt.

Now, watch what happened. Abraham was afraid that Pharaoh would take Sarah because she was beautiful. He worried that somebody might kill him to get to his wife.

So what did Abraham do? He told Sarah to say she was his sister instead of his wife.

Abraham was trying to protect himself. He allowed fear to influence his decisions. Was that right? No.

But here is what I want you to understand. Abraham was not perfect, yet God had called him.

God knew his weaknesses before He ever told him to leave home. And in the middle of those weaknesses, God continued working.

Why Did God Protect Sarah When Abraham Lied?

God protected Sarah because His promise involved more than Abraham's immediate circumstances; it involved the generation that would come after him.

Remember what God said in Genesis 12:3. Through Abraham, all the families of the earth would be blessed.

That promise was bigger than Abraham himself.

When Abraham went into Egypt, Pharaoh took Sarah into his household. Abraham had put himself in a terrible situation because of what he said.

But somebody was watching.

Come on, say God is watching.

Abraham might not have been watching over Sarah the way he should have, but God was watching. God knew what Abraham had done. He knew what Pharaoh was doing. And He knew what He had promised.

Why did God protect Sarah? Because God's promised seed was involved.

God brought plagues upon Pharaoh's household, and Pharaoh confronted Abraham about hiding the fact that Sarah was his wife.

Think about that. Pharaoh had the power to punish Abraham for putting him in that situation. But Abraham came through it, and Pharaoh sent him away with possessions.

Was Abraham perfect? No. Did he make a mistake? Absolutely.

But God did not forget His promise.

That does not mean we should go around doing wrong. It means we need to understand that God sees farther than we see.

Can God's Promises Overcome Impossible Circumstances?

Yes, God's promises can prevail even when age, physical limitations, and difficult circumstances make the future seem impossible.

Look at Genesis 12:4. Abraham was 75 years old when he departed from Haran.

Seventy-five years old!

Some of you are saying you are too old to accomplish what God has called you to do. You look at your age, your health, or your circumstances and decide that your opportunity has passed.

But Abraham was just getting started.

And there was another obstacle. Sarah could not have children.

Yet God promised Abraham that he would have a son through Sarah. How could that happen when Sarah was barren?

Let me tell you. God is God.

No matter what the doctor says about you, God is. No matter what somebody else has called you, God knows what He created you to be.

You cannot measure God's ability by the limitations you see in yourself.

Does God's Blessing Affect Future Generations?

Yes, God's blessing can reach beyond your own life and become a blessing to those who come after you.

In Genesis 12:7, God promised Abraham that the land would belong to his descendants.

Notice that. God was speaking to Abraham, but He was talking about Abraham's children and the generations after them.

Sometimes we become so concerned about what we want right now that we forget about the future.

We want the blessing for ourselves. We want everything to happen in our lifetime. But God was preparing something greater than Abraham could see at that moment.

I want you to ask yourself a question. Is anybody being blessed because of you?

Your family should see what God is doing in your life. Your children should see it. The people around you should see it.

God called me to share the gospel, and from the day He saved me, I went out and shared it. I remember that Wednesday night when He saved me. He told me I would minister and share His word.

I had to respond to that calling.

And that is where I want to leave you today. Do not let your imperfections become an excuse for disobedience.

God knows who you are. He knows what you have done. He knows what you are facing.

But He also knows what He has planned.

Your responsibility is to obey Him. Take that step of faith. Give your heart to Jesus Christ, and allow God to change what you cannot change yourself.

Because when God finishes His work in your life, you will look back and see what He has done. And what He accomplishes through you can bless the next generation.