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Abram made it to Canaan only to encounter famine. He’d passed his first test of faith by
leaving his land and people, the half-passed the next test by settling in Haran until his father died
and then taking Lot with him. After
arriving in Canaan the famine became his next faith test. My commentary said they can come through
circumstances, people, and things.
It also said God allowed the famine to teach Abram and Sarai
a basic lesson in the school of faith – tests
often follow triumphs. “After you
have won a great victory of faith, expect the enemy to attack you or the Lord
to test you, or both. This is the only way you can grow in your faith. God uses
the tough circumstances of life to build the muscles of your faith and keep you
from trusting something other than His Word.
Don’t try to run away from the problem.
It won’t work.”
But that’s what Abram did.
“When circumstances become difficult and you are in the furnace of
testing, remain where God has put you
until He tells you to move. Faith
moves in the direction of peace and hope, but unbelief moves in the direction of restlessness and fear … In times
of testing, the important question is not, ‘How can I get out of this?’, but ‘What can I get out of this?’”
I also read a very profound statement I’d heard before: “God alone is in control of circumstances.
You are safer in a famine in His
will than in a palace out of His
will … The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you.”
Epic Fail #1 brought another
test – people. Pharaoh might desire
his wife (he did). So Abram decided to
lie. My commentary noted changes in
Abram’s life that took place because he went to Egypt:
He
moved from trusting to scheming … When you find yourself
scheming in order to escape problems with people, beware; worse trouble is
coming.
He
moved from confidence to fear.
When you are in the place of God’ choosing, you don’t ever need to be
afraid.
He
moved from others to self.
He lied and put his wife in danger to protect himself. He should never have taken his wife there in
the first place.
He move
from bringing blessing to bringing judgment. If you want to be a blessing to others, then
stay in the will of God.
The wrap-up was this:
“God graciously watched over
His servant and brought him out of a difficult situation. If Sarai had become one of Pharaoh’s wives,
what would have happened to the promise of the Redeemer? When
we don’t let God rule, He OVERRULES and accomplishes His purposes, but we pay
dearly for our disobedience … When you disobey the will of God, the only right
thing to do is to go back to the place where you left Him and make a new beginning.
No failure is permanent in the school of faith.
Father, I so hate myself when I fail to trust You and choose
to willfully sin against You. I know that I can trust Your will for my life, and I guess my sin-nature just makes
me stupid. There is no excuse. When I do
fail, thank You for taking me back, brushing me off, and forgiving me. These faith tests are tough, but without taking them, my faith wouldn’t grow. Help me to remember in those tough times what
I learned as You called me to adopt Josh – “I trust You, God!”
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
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