"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28
Fear was his downfall. Abraham, the father of the faith – a spiritual giant– messed up. Big time. This right here is Abraham's E! True Hollywood Story – according to the Bible.
It's a long story, one you can find in Genesis 12:10-20. The short version is that it all boils down to fear. Understand this – Faith and fear cannot co-exist. Faith trusts in God. But when we give into fear, it pushes out faith. We begin to take life into our own hands. It's our 'American religion' – "God helps those who help themselves." That's what Ben Franklin teaches – not the Bible. This mentality is never the will of God.
Abraham stopped trusting God and came up with his own game plan. Unsurprisingly, things went horribly wrong. Yet, God remained in control. God had a plan for Abraham, so, God intervened. Doesn't this story sound familiar? When things become challenging and we can't see a clear solution, we stop acting out of faith and instead act out of fear. We begin to handle things our own way. We give into fear and worry, allowing our self-preservation instincts to kick in.
Yet, in spite of Abraham's failure, his story should give us great hope because we all struggle. We all fall short, missing the mark of God's best for our lives. And yet, God still used Abraham. God worked things out because God had a plan for Abraham's life!
In the same way, God can use you. God can use me. He can use all of us in spite of our weaknesses and in spite of our failures. Because "God works for the good of those who love him," He still intervenes. But first, we have to confess our sin and failure to God. It begins with seeking God's forgiveness.
In what areas of your life do you need to come back to God? Where have you begun living from fear rather than faith? Change directions, return to God, and hold onto the hope we find in Abraham's story: that our God is God of second chances.
