Articles
Growing in Trust
Reading: Genesis 12
God called Abram to leave all that he knew behind and go into a new, unknown land. God promised to give this land to Abram’s family (v. 7), to make them into a great nation (2), and to bless them and all the nations of the world through them (3). These promises would continue to develop and be reconfirmed to Abram and his offspring as God established a covenant with this man and his heirs. Here we see the next phase in the Lord’s master plan to redeem humankind from sin: through Abram’s descendant Jesus Christ, all the world truly would be blessed.
But before that could come to pass, Abram had to take his first steps of faith. He had to put a great deal of trust in the Lord as He led Abram, Sarai, and Lot into the land of the Canaanites. In the first legs of this journey, Abram built multiple altars to God along the way (vv. 7-8) as he responded to God’s faithfulness and sought His continuing guidance. But this journey also brought challenges, and soon Abram and Sarai ventured to Egypt to escape a famine. Here we see Abram’s trust falter, resorting to deception rather than honesty (vv. 11-13). In that place and under those circumstances, Abram trusted himself instead of God.
Just like Abram, you and I must grow in our trust in God. Some days we are building altars, praising God because we realize all He is and does and seeking His guidance in our daily lives. But on other days, we miss the mark by falling back on human fear and wisdom to guide our paths. There we learn, like Abram did, that much damage (spiritual and otherwise) comes from turning aside from the ways of the Lord. But God was gracious with Abram, and He is gracious with us. Knowing this, let’s resolve to trust God this week and do things His way.
