Not long after Abraham heard from God and had moved from Haran to Canaan and settled, famine struck in the Promised Land.
Obedience to God does not mean we will never face challenges. Even our hero Jesus experienced the same. As soon as he was born, Herod commanded his soldiers to go about the land and kill all baby boys under two years old. They were hoping to kill Jesus.
Have you just come into your season of fruit-bearing or blessings, and all of a sudden hell seems to have broken loose? If God permitted it to happen to his own son and to Abraham and many others in the bible, all with a happy ending, he will also do the same for you.
When famine struck, Abraham could have prayed complaining that God brought him to the Promised Land, only to disappoint him. If anything, this man was justified to complain, but he knew God so well he did not. He had clearly heard God’s call for him to leave the land, to go to a foreign land where God was to bless him, make his name great, and make him into a great nation. For doing this he had already paid the price of separation from his family and had walked by faith without knowing the exact details of where he was going, as God often requires from those he calls.
What has God called you to do? Is there trouble, and are you beginning to think maybe you haven’t heard from God properly? Maybe like me, you believe God for what he clearly says in the bible, but things are not coming together. Maybe your faith has even failed just like Abraham’s when he decided to move to where he compromised and lied to Pharaoh that Sarah was his sister and not his wife, in order to save himself.
Although Abraham repented, this failure was recorded in the book, not to condemn him but to show that even great spiritual men and women will be tempted and sometimes they even fail completely, but God is merciful. He will forgive us and help us to get on course again. The bible gives many examples of great men of God who experienced failure at some point. Elijah prayed that God could kill him after threats by Jezebel, Moses asked God to kill him rather than lead a stiff necked group of people, Jesus prayed “if it’s your will, let the cup pass” etc.
As I write this devotional, I myself am experiencing healing from similar emotions. After surviving death under Herod’s rule, Jesus later gave a parable in Matthew 13: 24-30 in which he compared the kingdom of God to a farmer who sowed good seed and whilst he was asleep, an enemy sowed weeds.
When doing good, pursuing the will of God, guess who will be offended and whose territory you are invading? Satan’s! When feathers are stirred whilst doing God’s will, it is often a good sign that you are doing well. This is when every believer is called not to look at circumstances, but to keep the promises in sight and walk by faith. Soon Jesus will meet you in his faithfulness.
Todays’ reading: Genesis chapter 12
