After Abraham and his family left Egypt, they headed back into the land God had promised. But problems soon came up again — not from enemies this time, but from inside the family.
Genesis 13:7-9 says,
“And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle… And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.”
Abraham and Lot’s herds had grown so big that there just wasn’t enough land for both of them. Their workers started fighting. Instead of getting bitter or trying to fight back, Abraham showed maturity. He let Lot pick whichever land he wanted first, even if it meant Abraham would get the leftovers.
That’s a hard thing to do. It takes faith to let others have the first choice and trust God to take care of you no matter what. But that’s what real faith looks like, even in relationships.
Romans 12:18 says,
“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”
Sometimes, living at peace means letting go of things you could have held onto — your rights, your pride, or even your preferences. It means trusting that God sees the whole picture and will bless you in His time, even when others act selfishly or treat you unfairly. Abraham could have demanded first choice. He was the elder, the leader, and the one who had received the promise straight from God — not Lot. But Abraham didn’t argue or fight for position. He knew that when God is the One writing your story, you don’t have to force anything. And sure enough, right after Lot chose the better-looking land and walked away, God showed up. For the first time, God told Abraham to lift up his eyes — and then He revealed the full scope of the promised land.
Abraham didn’t lose by waiting — he won by trusting.
This points us to Jesus, too.
Philippians 2:5-8 says,
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant… he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
Jesus had every right to stay in Heaven. But He humbled Himself. He took the lower place — not for His own sake, but for ours.
In family, in church, in friendships — conflict will come. That’s just life. The real question is, how do we handle it? Abraham’s example reminds us that sometimes the best thing to do isn’t to fight for what’s fair, but to trust God to fight for you. Humility and faith go hand in hand.
And just like with Abraham, when we let God handle it, He always takes care of us better than we ever could ourselves.
