We read in Genesis 12 that Abraham was called by the Lord. In verses 2 and 3, God says to Abraham, “I will make you a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
What an amazing word from the Lord. I’m guessing most of us would love to receive a word like this from the Lord. It would be so encouraging and life-giving. And I’m guessing it would increase our faith beyond measure.
The interesting thing, though, is that later in the chapter when they go to Egypt, Abraham actually lacks faith. Since his wife Sarah is so beautiful, he worries that the Egyptians might kill him and take her for themselves. Apparently he forgot the promise God had given him. So what does he do? He devises this little lie about Sarah being his sister, which ends up causing big problems for them and the people of Egypt.
Today Abraham is known as this great man of faith, but when you read these scriptures in Genesis 12, it’s obvious he wasn’t always as full of faith as he should have been. It’s a reminder that our faith is something that can actually grow over time. The more and more we put our trust in the Lord, the greater our faith becomes. Over time we see that Abraham’s faith grew and the same can be true for all of us. We will have those times where we try to take things into our own hands and we will have those times where our faith isn’t as strong as we feel it should be. But when we take time to remember the promises of God and hold on to the truth found in His Word—it’s then that we’ll see growth like Abraham and become the people of faith that God desires us to be.
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