The Navy Seals are known for saying,
“Under pressure, you do not rise to the occasion.
You sink to the level of your training.”
We like to think that when hardships come, we suddenly become men and women of great faith. Pressure does not create character. It reveals it. So, when we feel life squeezing us, we do not automatically trust God more. We actually fall back on what we’ve been training ourselves to trust all along. That is exactly what happened to Abram. A famine exposed where his faith still needed to grow. We must purposely choose choices that grow our faith in God.
Growth Will Move (12:10-13)
There are many things that will motivate us to move from where we have been standing. We will experience finances, friendships, family, and foes that will motivate us to move into some kind of action. In Genesis 12:10, Abram is facing a very powerful motivator called famine. One of the few things we cannot do without is food! So, Abram moves his wife, his nephew Lot, his livestock, and his servants to Egypt for food. Yet was Egypt the movement God was pressing for?
God knows what it takes to get us moving; however, sometimes we get moving to resources other than God. Do you know what it takes to get you moving closer to the Lord? What drives you to seek the Lord more, pray more, worship more, and depend on Him more? Do you tend to wait for complete crisis before moving closer to God?
“There are no atheists in foxholes.” Have you ever heard that saying? In other words, when we find ourselves under the pressure of a personal battle, sitting in the foxhole of personal protection, we will eventually be moved to call out to God for help. Your repeated or extended time in the foxhole is often God’s goodness of pressing you closer to Him! You and I want the circumstances to change, and God wants the heart to change!
Growth Will Have Obstacles (12:14-20)
As they approach Egypt, Abram is fearful that he will be killed so that Sarai could be the wife of an Egyptian, or even of Pharaoh. So, Abram tells Sarai to pretend she is his sister (12:13). Before we judge Abram and call him weak and pathetic, we need to understand some points of context:
Sarai was a very beautiful woman. This is more than Abram’s opinion. Sarai was so beautiful that the Egyptians noticed her beauty right away (12:14), the Egyptian princes recommended her to Pharaoh for her beauty, Sarai was then taken into Pharaoh’s home (12:15), and Pharaoh gave Abram many gifts for his wife (12:16).
Egypt was an absolute monarchy. Pharaoh could take any woman he wanted. He possessed nearly unlimited authority. So, Abram’s fear of his looming doom was not an unreasonable fear.
Ancient rulers were known to eliminate rivals. David did this with Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah (II Sam. 11) and Ahab killed Naboth so he could have his vineyard (I Kings 21).
Abram was Sarai’s half-brother (Gen. 20:12). In ancient Near Eastern cultures, a brother would have had significant authority in arranging a woman’s marriage. It is possible that Abram thought he would be able to delay such a marriage if he was introduced as her brother.
In the end, God saves the day! In verses 17 through 20, we are told that God sends several plagues on Pharoah’s home and Pharaoh chastises Abram for not telling him that Sarai was his wife. God did not take away the famine. However, God did supply Abram’s needs in abundance while He also exposed Abram’s struggle with fear, and more specifically, his struggle with not trusting the promises of God.
Have you ever missed a turn while using your GPS? When you do, you hear the ever-popular voice saying, "Recalculating." It doesn't lecture you. It doesn't say, "You blew your chance, looser!" It doesn't shut off and leave you stranded. It simply begins calculating a new route to your destination.
Abram made a wrong turn in Egypt and chose deception instead of faith, but God didn’t abandon His covenant. God remains faithful even when His people stumble! God is still faithful even when we struggle with wrong thinking, profanity, idolatry, lust, bitterness, or dishonoring our parents. God is faithful, ready to forgive, and He continues to fulfill His promises to us (Lam. 3:22-23; Ps. 86:5)!
Growth Will Lead to Worship (13:1-4)
They are safely sent away from Egypt with many possessions (Abram is rich! Genesis 13:2) and Abram worships the Lord again (13:1-4). Due to the timing of Abram’s worship in chapter 13, he most likely turned to God with confession of his fear, repentance of swiftly losing sight of God’s promises, and gratitude for God’s faithfulness. His time of worship clearly returned Abram to trusting God again since his responses are in faith to God in the rest of the chapter.
Significant times of worship are like mile markers in your spiritual journey on earth. What do your times of worship say about your relationship with God?
Growth Will Be Opposed (13:5-13)
In Genesis 13:5-13, we find out Lot’s people and Abram’s people are not getting along (13:7). So, Abram chooses peace over personal advantage and faith in God over schemes. He allows Lot to choose what land he wants, and Abram will take what is left. So, Lot chooses the entire plain of Jordan and pitches his tent near Sodom (13:12-13). The Bible takes the time to point out that the men of Sodom were wicked and sinning exceedingly. Lot’s physical location revealed his spiritual devotion. What does how and where you position yourself reveal about your devotion to the Lord?
Growth Will Be Affirmed (13:14-18)
After Lot leaves, the Lord reaffirms His covenant with Abram in Genesis 13:14-18. After personal failures, instead of distance and disfavor, Abram receives encouragement and blessing!
Abram’s faith moves forward with great growth through times of failure! Isn’t that encouraging?! A believer will often feel “unworthy” of God’s promises and His faithfulness after times of failure; however, God does not cast His children away! He showers the repentant with His grace instead!
Learning from Genesis 12 and 13, how will our faith grow in the Lord?
Hard times reveal where your trust is placed. Famine moved Abram to go to Egypt (12:10), and that is when we realize that Abram is still learning to trust God’s promises. Trials will reveal if our anchor is in God’s promises or our own plans. Faith in God grows when you place your trust in God and see Him work.
Self-dependence often leads to fear. Abram is getting close to Egypt and his fear grows (12:11-13). When your fear is greater than your confidence in God, fear will fill the void. Faith in God grows when you replace fear with God’s promises.
Lack of faith in God creates bigger problems. Deception was Abram’s solution to his fear (12:11-13). Human wisdom is a poor substitute for dependence on God! Abram tries to protect himself and instead he puts his wife in danger, Pharaoh’s home receives severe plagues, and it all ends with public embarrassment. Faith in God grows when you learn your own schemes rarely accomplish what only trusting God can do. Step away from human logic and run to God!
God remains faithful even when you do not. God’s promises did not fail because Abram wavered in his faith. God’s promises remained true! Faith in God grows when you experience God’s grace after failure. Abram definitely didn’t earn God’s protection or provision, but God showered Abram with it. Amazing Grace! My knowledge, my skills, my persuasive speech, and my schemes do not save me from struggle…God does!
Restoration begins when you turn to God. After the debacle in Egypt, Abram did not simply return to normal life. He stopped and worshipped the Lord (13:1-4). Abram was not renewed by forgetting his failure. He was renewed by confessing and turning from his failure. Faith in God grows when you identify failures, ask for forgiveness, repent, and thank the Lord. This is worship with right priorities!
The response to conflict changes. Abram faced significant conflicts with his selfish nephew after the trial of famine. This new trial in chapter 13 finds Abram responding very differently than the trial in chapter 12. This time Abram responds with faith (instead of fear) and allows Lot to choose the best land available. Faith in God grows when you live generously and trust God to provide.
Experiencing God’s promises firsthand. Did you notice that God did not reaffirm His promises until after Lot had left (13:14-17)? Abram’s dependence on self in chapter 12 led to turmoil. Abram’s dependence on God in chapter 13 led to God reminding Abram of His promises. The difference between the two outcomes is dramatic! Faith in God grows when you experience God’s promises firsthand.
Have you been and are you planning to purposely choose choices that grow your faith in God?