When we are in the center of God’s will, obeying God, we somehow get the idea that life should go smoothly, and we shouldn’t have any troubles. This is not Biblical thinking. But, nonetheless, people are often shaken when trouble arrives. Throughout my ministry, I’ve observed people reacting to trouble in one of three ways.

First, some get angry with God, blaming Him for not keeping trouble away. I’ve met those who have prayed hard for the healing of a loved one and the healing never came. There are those who’ve sincerely tried to do what is right and been unfairly attacked by people seeking to ruin them. And, disasters strike, terrible car accidents take innocent lives, and many other grievous things come our way. Here the reasoning seems to be, “God, I’ve been trying to do my best to serve You, and now You’ve let this happen. A lot of good it does to follow You! I’m done with it. What good are you if you can’t even keep my little girl from dying?”

At the other extreme are those who, when facing trouble, reach out and seek God with greater passion. In their distress, they let go of themselves, their false expectations, and cling to God with the fierceness of trust Job expresses when he says, Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him
(Job 13:15).  Indeed, the worse the adversity, it seems, the stronger their roots of faith reach down and they live in the glorious liberty of those whose lives belong to God alone. They shake it off and step up higher into God’s ways.

But, there is a middle course which I find is possibly the most common in the church– one which I see Abraham taking here. It is not open rebellion and anger with God, but more disappointment. Things have not gone as well as we thought they should, so we hedge our position with God. Rather than total trust in Him and His ways, we make some other back-up plans in case God doesn’t come through as we hope for Him to. We don’t want to get too far out on a limb for God. We stay in a safe position, so we can jump back if things start getting to be too much for us. We keep an unburned bridge for retreat, “just in case.” As I’ve studied our Scripture, I’ve come to believe that Abram’s journey to Egypt represents this middle course.

There is no indication in the story that Abram received God’s direction in going to Egypt. It is possible that God wanted Abram to stay in Canaan and experience God’s provision there, or at least wait until God gave him direction. Certainly everyone in Canaan couldn’t have gone down to Egypt– so there was likely some means to survive the famine there, though perhaps not in the style Abram wanted. It may have meant the loss of some of his cattle and possessions.  I’m wondering if this wasn’t a bit of Abram’s looking out for himself. Egypt with its rich Nile valley was not subject to the same droughts Palestine was vulnerable to. So Abram steps out on his own here. He seeks the safety of Egypt to weather the famine.

In 1986, two brothers were living in a kibbutz on the Sea of Galilee. They were fishermen. The kibbutz had suffered through a three-year drought. As these men were working with their fishing equipment on the shore one day, they made an incredible discovery. They noticed an outline in the mud on the shore of what appeared to be a boat. Archeologists determined it dates from the time of Jesus. The only reason is was discovered was because the drought had dropped the lake levels to unprecedented lows.

Yes, there are treasures to be discovered in times of drought and famine. But Abram instead goes for what seems like the sure thing– refuge in Egypt. And, as he moves outside God’s revealed will– or at least to the margins– he runs into big trouble in terms of his own weakness.

FEAR
As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.” (12:11-13)
Abram starts well in his conversation to Sarai, complimenting her beauty. BUT, it is all downhill from there. Abram’s main interest is looking out for himself. He is sacrificing Sarai to spare his own life and to insure that he will be treated well.

Abram, who showed such faith in leaving behind his former life to follow God’s call, now crumbles under the onslaught of fear. He is far from the promised land and God’s promises have faded into the background in light of the power and splendor of Egypt. It is an intimidating place for the nomadic Abram. He is in mortal danger here. And fear speaks louder than God. Fear prompts Abram to take things into his own hands and comes up with his plan to be sure his own skin is saved at the expense of Sarai. In fact, his plan is so good (in his mind) that it is a way to insure his prosperity should Pharaoh take a liking to Sarai’s beauty– I will be treated well for your sake.

In our adult Sunday School class, we are discussing John Ortberg’s book, If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat. It has a lot to do with fear. Ortberg observes, “Look at most sin– yours and mine– and underneath you will find fear.” Certainly I’ve observed that in my own life. I’m ashamed of the times I’ve been mute when I should have spoken and when I’ve hidden my light under a bushel basket– all because of people I feared would be displeased. Isn’t it fear that caused Peter to deny Jesus three times when the crunch came?

I think all of us can remember times when the pressure to fit-in has caused us to sit through a movie we should have walked out on, or keep silent when God would have us speak, or gone along with a policy in the work place out of fear of losing our jobs. Has the fear of failure motivated you to cheat? Have you lied to save yourself from the consequences you fear for what you did or did not do? You may say you can’t afford to tithe, give 10% to the Lord. But isn’t the real issue fear– fear that there won’t be enough for what you want? The list of our fears that drive-out trust in the Lord is endless. In fact, Philip Yancey has accurately (in my opinion) observed that the opposite of faith is not doubt, but fear.

Did you know that the African impala can jump to a height of over 10 feet and cover a distance greater than 30 feet in a single bound? Yet a zoo can keep them in an enclosure with a 3-foot wall because an impala will not jump unless it can see where its feet will fall.

Fear is actually a flimsy, confining enclosure restricting our life of faith, making us think we cannot go beyond what we can see. When we belong to the Creator of all things, we need to reject the lie of fear and go ahead and make the leaps God directs us to even when we’re not guaranteed where we will land.

As the story continues, Abram’s fears are realized in Pharaoh taking Sarai. Also, what Abram hoped for happened. Pharaoh treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels(16). But for God’s mercy, things could have gotten terribly off track here. God intervened, inflicting disease on Pharaoh’s household. Somehow, in seeking the cause of the disease, Pharaoh finds out that it is on account of Sarai. And here we have a pagan monarch rebuking Abraham.

Now, feeling the chastisement of Pharaoh’s rebuke, a humbled Abram hightails it back to where he is supposed to be.
So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him.  Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.

From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD. (13:1-4)
My imagination is caught by that phrase, he went from place to place until he came to Bethel. This gives a feel of wandering, having lost his bearings. Failure often does that to us, doesn’t it? It can be hard to get back on track. But, then, he returns to Bethel, which in the last sermon I mentioned means “the house of God.” We see him going back now to where he’d gotten off track, back to the first altar, and There Abram called on the name of the LORD.

Now, from the depths of terrible weakness, sin and defeat, we see Abram demonstrate inspiring faith. Here we have a second test in the conflict between Abram and his nephew Lot.

Genesis 13:5-13

LETTING GO
We can wonder if Abram was ever supposed to take Lot,  his nephew, along in following God’s call. God’s call was specifically to Leave your country, your people, and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you  (12:1). But, Lot and family tag along. Perhaps Lot was a pioneer spirit and got caught up in the vision, the adventure, or opportunity. But it would appear his heart was not in the right place. So perhaps this trouble, and some future trouble we’ll see in the next couple of weeks is due to Abram’s incomplete leaving– allowing his nephew Lot to come along.

The solution Abram proposes to the conflict is generous to the extreme. He gives Lot first choice. The Jordan valley is the best, most fertile land, with dependable water from the Jordan River. The other choice is the rocky spine of hills running down the center of Israel. I’m sure Lot, the tag-along, could hardly believe his good fortune. It is like asking a teen whether he wanted a new BMW or your old used Ford Escort.