"The LORD said to Abram, 'Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.'...so Abram left, as the LORD had told him."
"As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, 'I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.'...But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai."
This night finds me sipping on some masala chai in the quiet of my house...only some background music on to cut the deafening silence. My mind is a flood of thoughts, so I don't fear the caffeine as much as my mind keeping me up.
As one is pushing to move forward in life (speaking in more of a mental sense than physical), the past does seem to resurrect itself. What I have not figured out is if this resurrection is a friend or foe. It seems that most times, it is a foe who tries to hinder me. However, as I look on it tonight, it seems friendly enough.
Abram (later Abraham) got it right in the beginning. God instructed and He obeyed. Abram took a huge step of faith. God didn't tell him where he was going...only to go. Any of us who are believers have had at least one of those moments in our lives. God tells us to confess with our mouth and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead and we will be saved (Romans 10:9)...so if we have done that, we have had one of those great moments of obeying God; a great step of faith.
I don't know about your life, but as I look back, I do see other moments of obedience in my life. However, alongside those (and then some!), I see intense moments where I didn't trust God...just like Abram didn't trust Him to preserve his life in Egypt (even though Abram already had a promise from God that indicates God wasn't through with him).
In my Bible, there is a comment (by the editors) that talks about how we can look at this time in Abram's life and get very discouraged by it. As I read this story, I personally am encouraged by it. God knows He's not working with perfect people (He was at the Fall)...but He practices incredible patience and step by carefully planned step, God deepens Abram's faith to what many consider the ultimate point - the willingness to sacrifice his own son.
God uses imperfect people like Abram...like me...like any other imperfect person in this world (al of us). That is encouraging to me as I even consider the last 24 hours of my life. Ah, the reality of grace...the beauty of a Saviour who loves us too much to let go.
On a side note, I love how God stepped in to protect Sarai when her husband (who should have protected her, but instead offered her up) failed to do so. And being God, He made it clear that she was His. If you want, you can read the story for yourself to find out more on that.
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