“So, I said to myself, this is how it really is and this is how I will fix it.”  How many times in our lives does the fear of the unknown drive us to think, say, and do things that are weirdly irrational and commonly false.  Fear drives us to do crazy things.  Abraham is strong enough in his faith to stop and listen to God, strong enough to worship God along the way in his journey, but weak when it comes to going to God first for the things that causes fear as he travels as a stranger through new lands.

We all do it.  Self-talk dangerously relies on our own wisdom that the writers of Proverbs so aptly point out. Self-talk is foolish and leads to folly in following God who made us in his own image.  When we do it again and again, how God must heave a huge sigh—but He never gives up on us!

Genesis 20

Abraham and Abimelek

Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, ² and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.

³ But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”

⁴ Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? ⁵ Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”

⁶ Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. ⁷ Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”

⁸ Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. ⁹ Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.” ¹⁰ And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”

¹¹ Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ ¹² Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. ¹³ And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

¹⁴ Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. ¹⁵ And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.”

¹⁶ To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.”

¹⁷ Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, ¹⁸ for the Lord had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Though God’s people often forgot their God, God didn’t forget them. He kept his word. He could have given up. He could have turned his back. He could have walked away from the wretched mess, but he didn’t.  Even though Abraham did it again, saying his wife was his sister to avoid assumed trouble, God did not give up on his chosen prophet.  God led him through it to the other side.  God still does that.

“How great in our God”, we sing in worship with gladness; but stop to realize how really great is our God who does not give up on us!  Instead God sent His Son, Jesus, as the Way out of our foolish sins caused by self-talk and self-control.

When Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?” Abraham’s first, seeming lame response was, “I said to myself.”  We all do it.  We rationalize with pretense, with lies seen and unseen, resulting in behaviors which ultimately hinders our trust while highlighting our fears as we walk with God.  Our faith falters until God, who never gives up on us, bends down to intervene on the behalf of his beloved.

How great is our God?  Beyond what our minds can conceive!  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17

God did not and does not give up on His beloved.  Instead, like a loving Father, He disciplines us with lessons the turn our messes into messages of Truth.  God sent His Son to clean up our mess as a demonstration of his love and everlasting faithfulness.  Max Lucado beautifully emphases God’s patience and faithfulness for us as he writes;

“When God (Jesus) became flesh and was the victim of an assassination attempt before he was two years old, he didn’t give up.

When the people from his own hometown tried to push him over a cliff, he didn’t give up.

When his brothers ridiculed him, he didn’t give up.

When he was accused of blaspheming God by people who didn’t fear God, he didn’t give up.

When Peter worshiped him at the supper and cursed him at the fire, he didn’t give up.

When people spat in his face, he didn’t spit back. When the bystanders slapped him, he didn’t slap them. When a whip ripped his sides, he didn’t turn and command the awaiting angels to stuff that whip down that soldier’s throat.

And when human hands fastened the divine hands to a cross with spikes, it wasn’t the soldiers who held the hands of Jesus steady. It was God who held them steady. For those wounded hands were the same hands that had brought light into thick and dreadful darkness. They had come to do it again.” Lucado, Encouraging Word Bible

Our response?

Trust God. Seriously and committedly, trust God. 

Avoid self-talk that hinders hearing the Voice of God. 

Possess a healthy fear and awe of God.  Come to Him with humbled obedience that grows our faith in God who knows us better than we know ourselves for it is He who created us—in His own image.

When we create a mess, admit it to yourself and confess it to God who forgives and disciplines His children in ways that are for our good and His glory.  Abraham’s lie cost him dearly. His character was damaged by loss of personal integrity. His testimony about God to his neighbors was severely damaged. And his ministry as someone who was to bring about God’s blessing in people’s lives was also hindered.  When believers sin, they are disciplined by God until they come to a place of repentance and confession. This discipline is not enjoyable, but it is profitable, and in the end, it produces peace, joy and holiness to the glory of God.

Lord,

I truly stand in awe of your unfailing love and faithfulness to us!  You are God—I am not.

Cleanse my heart of my sins.  Renew my mind with your higher ground Kingdom thinking.  Refresh my soul with your new mercies for today.  Restore the joy of you in me and me in you as you mold and shape me to be all you created me to be.  May I reflect your glory so others will know you, too.

In Jesus Name, Amen