Abram obeyed God and arrived in
Canaan. Upon arrival the Lord appeared to him and reaffirmed His
promises to him. Then Abram built two altars to worship the Lord.
He kept God at the centre of his existence. He was exactly where
God wanted him to be. God had called him and he had listened,
obeyed. But then something happened.
"At that time there was a
severe famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to wait it
out." Genesis 12:10
Abram followed God's guidance and
went to live in Canaan, a land that God promised to give him. And
now all of a sudden there was a famine, so severe that Abram
couldn't stay there. He had to go to Egypt just to survive. Now
personally that would have been a hard pill for me to swallow. God
uprooted him from his homeland, his family, friends and comfort and
led him to a hostile land. Abram didn't complain, but he followed
God's command without hesitation. The journey couldn't have been
easy but he followed God's leading. And when he arrived there he
worshipped God, built an altar and did the right thing. As far as
we can see, Abram did everything right. And yet there was a severe
drought now, forcing him to leave the country he just arrived in. I
don't know about you, but that would have been very discouraging
for me. Here I gave up everything, followed God and now I am forced
to move again due to the drought. I might even have begun to wonder
if I did the right thing in following God. I might have begun to
doubt whether I heard Him correctly. But Abram did no such thing.
He didn't complain to God, he didn't doubt or regret his choice to
follow God, no he simply made a plan in the interim until he could
go back to Canaan once again.
Sometimes God might put a test in
our path to see if we will still follow His leading, even if the
going gets tough. Also hardships are there to develop our
character. None of the disciples had it easy after Jesus ascended
into heaven. They had very tough trials, but they also experienced
more miracles than most Christians today. They displayed more
courage and joy and through doing that, they drew countless numbers
to Christ. They started Christianity that we have today and spread
it throughout the world. We are able to believe and be part of
God's kingdom because of what they did.
When you are certain of what God
wants you to do, continue doing it. It will not always be easy. Ask
any of the great pastors of our day, they certainly didn't have a
smooth ride, but they persevered and have a story to tell today
encouraging others on the same route. Just don't quit and return to
where you came from. If Abram quit with this drought and returned
to Haran, what a sad ending to his life that would have been.
Everyone will just remember him as the one that couldn't continue
to believe in God's promises. Keep on keeping on. Don't look back,
but look forward to where God is leading you. You won't be sorry.
His will is best!
Father please give us the strength
to continue on our life's path. Even when hardship come, please
give us the courage to push through and to rather keep our eyes on
You. Thank you that we can know that You are always with us. In
Jesus' Name. Amen