STRUGGLING SAINTS AND THE FAITHFUL GOD

Living by Faith Doesn’t Guarantee a Life of Ease

When we last met, we looked at the call of Abram. The Lord told Abram to leave his country, kindred, and father’s house to go to a land that He would show him. The Lord promised to make of Abram a great nation, which was a huge blessing in an of itself, since Sarai was barren at this point. But the Lord didn’t stop there. He said that He would bless Abram and make his name great so that he would be a blessing. He said that He would bless the one that blesses Abram and the one who dishonors him, the Lord would curse. And finally, He told Abram that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him. When Abram heard this call, he left behind his pagan roots and everything he had ever known to follow the only true God. Abram’s encounter with the Lord forever changed his life, and we are still seeing and feeling the effects of his decision to follow the Lord today. For it is through Abram’s family that Jesus Christ would come to be the Savior of the world by dying for our sins and rising from the dead. Through this Messiah, all the families of the earth will be blessed by placing their faith in Him as their only hope of salvation. When we finished up last time, Abram had traveled roughly 1000 miles from Ur of the Chaldeans to the land of Canaan, where he continued to worship and follow the Lord. What we are going to see this week, is that living a life of faith in the Lord doesn’t mean our journey will be easy. We will face troubles, trials, and temptations. But in the midst of these troubles, the Lord will be faithful to fulfill His promises. Our salvation is not dependent on our faithfulness, but on His. This truth should fill our hearts with joy and hope. So join me in reading our passage for today.

Abram had left everything to come to the land of Canaan, and now that he had arrived, there came a severe famine in the land. Now, we don’t know if this famine was a simply a result of the curse on creation from Genesis 3, or if this famine was unleashed on Canaan because of their great wickedness. For as we are going to discover in the coming chapters, their wickedness was immense. But in either case, a famine came. It is possible that this brings up some questions with you. Didn’t God promise to bless Abram? Then why is He letting Abram experience this severe famine? Because we live in a sin-cursed world, it is inevitable that we are going to face tribulations. God doesn’t promise to keep us from going through storms. He promises to be with us and bless us through the storms of life. Listen to these passages.

John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.””

1 Thessalonians 3:3–4 “that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know.”

Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

What do we learn from those three passages? In this world we will have tribulation and affliction, but we have a Savior who has overcome the world. And because He has overcome the world, He causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. What an amazing God to cause all things to work together for our good and His glory! We see these truths on display so clearly in the life of Abram. But when Abram was going through these things himself, his faith was not always rock-solid. He had times of weakness and doubt. Here in verses 11-12, he started to worry for his life. He was afraid that since Sarai was so beautiful, the Egyptians would kill him so they could have her. Although he had clearly placed his faith in the Lord, here he had a moment of worry and doubt. To be clear, this wan’t technically a lie, but it was definitely not the whole truth.

Genesis 20:12 “Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.”

His concealment of the truth definitely put poor Sarai in a horrible situation. The husband should be the spiritual leader and protector in his family, willing to lay down his life for his wife. But in his fear, Abram threw Sarai to the wolves. Pharoah heard of her great beauty and took her for himself. Praise the name of the Lord Most High, that although Abram’s faith wavered, the Lord remained faithful to His promises!

2 Timothy 2:11–13 “The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.”

See 1 Chronicles 16:8-23...

Though Abram failed here and didn’t protect and care for Sarai as he should have, the Lord defended them both. God sent great plagues on Pharoah and his house. He rebuked a king for the sake of His servant Abram. And not only did He protect Sarai and Abram, just like He said He would, but He also provided Abram with many possessions through the gifts of Pharoah. He was given sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels. If this isn’t a perfect example of the Lord causing all things to work for the good of His people, I don’t know what is! When the Lord makes us a promise, we can bank on His Word, for He never lies. If He promises to do something, He will do it!

See Hebrews 6:13-18...

Was Abram Right to Bring Lot?

Now let’s read chapter 13 and see how the Lord cared for Abram through another difficult situation with his nephew Lot.

This situation brings up a question for us. Should Abram have brought Lot with him in the first place? For in Genesis 12:1, Abram was told to go from his country, kindred, and his father’s house. So is this a self-inflicted problem that Abram brought on himself? Should Lot have been with him in the first place? Let’s review a few points that will hopefully shed some light on this question.

Point 1: When Abram’s brother Haran died in Ur, Terah (the father of Abram and Haran) adopted Lot. Then when Abram’s father Terah died, Abram took Lot in to care for him. So Lot was counted as part of Abram’s immediate family. You can read about that in Genesis 11:27-32.

Point 2: Genesis 12:4 says that Abram left “as the Lord had told Him”. So Abram was walking in obedience to the Lord in bringing Lot.

Point 3: Lot was referred to as “righteous” in 2 Peter 2:7-9. We know that someone is only declared righteous by faith. In light of this, we can conclude that Lot desired to follow the Lord. So in light of these truths, it is no wonder Lot wanted to go and why Abram brought him along. So bringing Lot was clearly not in violation of the Lord’s command.

2 Peter 2:7–9 “and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,”

Abram and Lot Separate

Here in this passage, we see Abram go to great lengths to keep the peace between himself and his nephew, Lot. It seems like the circumstances in Egypt have renewed his faith in the Lord. We see him willing to give Lot his choice of the land, and take what was left for himself. This is the Abram that we know and love. He is doing the right thing, and trusting in the Lord to care for him and to work out the details. We see Abram living by several Biblical principles in this passage.

Romans 12:18 “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

Philippians 2:3–4 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

See 1 Peter 3:8-12...

Although Abram had told Lot that he could choose any of the land to settle, the Lord told Abram that all of the land would be given to him and his offspring forever. Neither Pharoah in Egypt, nor the strife between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot could thwart God’s promises to Abram. The Lord had given His Word, and He was going to bring it about. And though Abram had times of weakness, he is known as a man of faith because he kept clinging on to the promises of God.

Matthew 17:20 “He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.””

Sometimes we are like Abram and our faith feels small, but take heart! Tiny faith, the size of a mustard seed, can do great things. It is in our weakness that the power of God is perfected and put on display. For when we feel weak, that tiny faith that we have is not trusting in our own abilities and strength, it is trusting in the Almighty God who never breaks His promise!

Hebrews 11:8–10 “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.”

It is my prayer that as we see the faithfulness of God in the life of Abram, our faith will be strengthened to trust the Lord for the promises He has given us. For the same God that kept His promises to Abram has given us precious promises to sustain us, as well. So let us hold on to the promises of God, with great assurance that He will fulfill His Word in our lives and finish the good work He has started. Don’t let trials, tribulations, or afflictions make you question the goodness and faithfulness of God’s plan. He is still on the throne and He will never leave you or forsake you. And He will cause all things to work together for your good. You might not see or feel the good He is working yet, but God is faithful. So rest easy in the promises of our good and sovereign Heavenly Father.