“Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.” — GENESIS 12:10-13

It’s easy to believe spiritual truth when the sun is shining and the sky is blue, but when it collides with physical reality, dark clouds move in, the picture is obscured, and spiritual truth doesn’t seem as real anymore. In our walk with God, we can be absolutely sure that we will experience dark times like this when we do not know what is going on.

God had called Abraham to be the father of a nation that would bring blessing to the world. He was on a divine mission orchestrated by God. As he arrived in Canaan, where he pitched his tent, he built an altar, and in so doing, was stating this was God’s business, and God had brought him there. But unexpectedly a severe famine hit the land and Abraham panicked. He turned from dependence upon God to acting in independence of God, and in the process made the transition of a man of faith to a man of fear. There is a fine line between faith and fear, which lies between keeping our eyes on God no matter what is happening, or looking at our circumstances and trying to figure it out. It is in doing the latter that our faith turns to fear.

Abraham made the mistake of looking at God through the famine instead of looking at the famine through God. If he had looked at the famine through God, God would be his fixed reference point, but when he looked at God through the famine, the famine and all its consequences became his reference point – so he bolted to what he thought would be a safe refuge – he went down to Egypt. Once we yield to fear, we rely on our own resources, which usually opens the door to disobedience, manipulation, selfishness and deceit. Abraham abandoned God’s mission, set out for Egypt, and in an effort to save himself, become deceitful and lied about his wife.

Regardless of what famine we face, whether it be food, shelter, love, finances, work or any other area of lack, if we remain rooted in God, our security remains intact. Our circumstances may vary, but God Himself remains utterly consistent and a secure reference point in the turmoil.

PRAYER: Lord, I know there is nothing You can’t overcome. Don’t allow any difficult circumstance I face entice me to fall away from You. Carry out your purpose for me, and keep me firmly implanted in You.

TO REFLECT UPON: Is your reference point your changing circumstances, or God?