6. Keep on believing

Abram obeyed God and moved to Canaan. Once there, he continued to worship God by building two altars for Him. And when his first test of faith came by way of a famine, he simply made a plan and moved to Egypt. But then something happened that shows us that Abram was human after all.

"As Abram was approaching the borders of Egypt, Abram said to Sarai, "You are a very beautiful woman. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife. Let's kill him; then we can have her!' But if you say you are my sister, then the Egyptians will treat me well because of their interest in you, and they will spare my life." Genesis 12:11-13

I was actually amazed when I read these verses again. Here was Abram, the one who did everything right down to the tee, now faltering in his faith. God Himself appeared to him and promised him that He will bless him and make him famous, and not only that, He promised that he will become the father of a great nation and that they will occupy Canaan. Now up and until this point Abram didn't have children, therefore God's promise will return void if he were to be killed by the Egyptians. And as we know, God's promises will never return void, He is faithful and true. Therefore Abram was supposed to be confident that he would not die now, because he was fatherless and not yet famous as God promised him. He was supposed to cling to God's promises and know without a doubt that he will not die as yet. He was supposed to be confident upon entering Egypt. And yet, he wasn't. He was scared that they were going to kill him to get to his wife. He feared death.

Now his prediction that they would want his wife was absolutely true. Once they arrived there, the news of her beauty reached the ears of Pharaoh himself and upon learning the lie that she was Abram's sister; he took her into his harem and gave Abram several gifts. But before he could take her to be his wife, God sent a terrible plague upon Pharaoh's household and Pharaoh immediately realised that it was because of Sarai and ordered Abram and his entire household to leave Egypt at once.

So there we have it. Abram was scared, he lied, he gave his wife away and yet God stepped in and helped him. What an amazing God we have. As I said, Abram was just human after all. As shocking as this sounds, I doubt if any of us would have acted differently. How many times have we received Word/confirmation from God and before we know it we take the situation into our own hands, too afraid that God 'might not be able to help' or 'be too late to help'. We doubt God's promises and try to force things to happen our way. We would have done the same thing Abram did.

And yet look how wonderful is our God. Despite Abram's lack of faith, God intervened and did not allow His plans to be disrupted. He wanted Abram and Sarai to have pure offspring that He could bless. He didn't want Sarai to be defiled. He helped them when their faith was not strong enough. He helped them in their time of need. And not only that, He still calls Abram, the father of the faith, despite his moments of doubt. He still chose to use Abram in His big salvation plan.

God chooses to see the best in us. Sometime we need to forgive ourselves too and move on to all He has planned for us. Hold on to His promises, He is Holy and true, our Redeemer, the One Who never lies, and the One Who is always ready to help. Trust in Him.

Thank you Father that Your plans for us are good. Thank you that You have a future and a hope planned for us. Please forgive our faithlessness and help us to see all events in the right perspective. Help us to stand firm despite temptations and despite fear. In Jesus' Name. Amen

3 comments for “6. Keep on believing”

  1. Gravatar of RonelleRonelle
    Posted Thursday, 07 May 2015 at 4:30:37 PM

    This reminds me of Jer 29:11 "I know the plans I have for you...."

  2. Gravatar of maggymaggy
    Posted Thursday, 07 May 2015 at 9:15:39 PM

    That is true we must keep on believing that God will protect and guide us when the situation is beyond our powers.Amen

  3. Gravatar of ThatoThato
    Posted Friday, 08 May 2015 at 12:25:38 PM

    Amazing revelation! But Ilze did God have to make poor Abraham wait that long? Eish #plans plans of God

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