Good Morning.
Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land. And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.” (Genesis 12:10-13)
The famine and descent into Egypt was another trial for the great man of faith, Abram. Many years later, the same scenario developed for his descendants – famine drove them into Egypt to sojourn in the days of Joseph. Remember from yesterday — what happens to the Patriarchs is a portent for the children. And considering that this pattern may yet apply to us in some way, take note of the fact that something was exposed about this man of faith – his fear dying.
We could try and justify his actions with the argument that he had a destiny to fulfill, but the bottom line is, though he trusted God for so much, at this point in his life he didn’t trust God with his life. In this particular situation, Abram decided to take matters into his own hands and, by so doing, removed them from God’s. It seems to me that it is possible for us to trust God in so many areas of our lives but, as He allows circumstances to arise that squeeze us, to discover there are areas where we don’t trust Him as we should.
Where Abram is concerned, we learn that he was not chosen because he was a perfect man but that God perfects those He chooses. Early in his journey, he was tempted to massage the truth a bit for the sake of self-preservation. Eventually, Abraham would demonstrate that there was nothing that He would withhold from God. In other words, he overcame this weakness and determined to trust God with all of his being.
Likewise, in time we may discover that there are areas where we don’t trust God the way we thought we did. Stressful circumstances have a way of revealing what’s buried deep inside us. I am convinced that a crisis doesn’t make the man, it reveals the man. But remember that the Almighty doesn’t choose perfect people; He perfects those He chooses. In Abraham we see a man who was determined to overcome his weaknesses to become the man God called him to be. Famine revealed something about him and he made the decision to overcome it. Let’s follow that example as we are being perfected in the days ahead.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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