Prompt: A man undergoing a difficult trial in life, by Frank Frazetta

Even a wise man like Job somehow lost his wisdom when a series of trials happened to his life. He was overwhelmed by grief and misery due to the sudden death of his children and the disappearance of his wealth. Such combined attack in his life, emotional and economical, floored Job, and made him dysfunctional and longed for his death.

Perhaps our own trials are not as big as Job's. Perhaps, our own trials are simply either emotional or economic in nature.

In this article based on Genesis 12 verses 10 to 20, we see the patriarch Abraham threatened by economic trial, a famine. As a way to solve this problem, he decided to go down to Egypt. There in Egypt, there were things that happened in his life that God taught him important lessons. And so my aim in this post is to glean the lessons from the experience of Abraham when he escaped famine by migrating to Egypt.

The first lesson we learn here is that in times of trials, God will provide you with the directions you need.

Verses 10 to 13 tell us that famine was the reason Abraham went down to Egypt. In times like that, food is the primary need. However, Abraham thought that in his search for food, he was risking his life by entering Egypt. Perhaps he thought that powerful people in Egypt did not fear God and might kill him to take his wife. And so he came up with a solution to protect his life. He talked to his wife and asked favor to hide their marital relationship. In this way, Abraham's life would be protected, and their need for food would also be provided.

This story was very important for Moses' generation. This reminded them that Israel went down to Egypt during Joseph's time due to the same economic reason, famine. As a normal response, they want food security to save their lives and the lives of their livestock. And only Joseph who was the Governor of Egypt at that time could provide what Jacob's family needed. So they decided to go down to Egypt.

In both stories, we see the hand of God. We see that God used famine, which in our time is more appropriately described as an economic crisis to provide direction for His people. In our days, economic crisis remains a serious threat to the world economy and nations' economies. However, people instead of turning to God in this critical time have been rejecting Him.

On the other hand, for those who fear Him, our time is a time to seek His face, to ask Him for His direction. And such direction has already been provided in His word.

Like Abraham, especially in times of economic crisis, we also worry about the future of our family. We are worried about our lives particularly if our business is not going well, our companies are struggling, our investments are not yielding interest, and yet the standard of living keeps on increasing and we have so many financial duties to fulfill such as paying for our debts, the utilities, and our children's education.

With this situation, the future seems bleak and uncertain, and people do not like to face the unknown. And so people seek and try their best to find security and peace during troubled times. But for us Christians, times of trials are times to continually seek the face of God, his direction for our lives. Only God can give us wisdom on what to do to provide for our family.

Moreover, besides the economic crisis, there is a greater crisis in our time, a spiritual, intellectual, and moral crisis. This crisis originates from the denial of God's existence and His revelation. They see the Bible as a hoax.

Many people these days no longer believe that God speaks through the preaching of the Bible. We are living in a time that is anti-God, and most especially anti-Christianity. Dominant philosophies discredit religion in general and Christianity in particular. They see that faith in the existence of God hampers the progress of human civilization. They see religion as destructive to humanity. As a result of this denial, people remain in spiritual death and others are spiritually starving.

And so there is a spiritual famine in our time. And this spiritual famine manifests in education, morality, politics, and economics.

The kind of direction that we need in our time can only be found in God. And the word of God tells us that Jesus is the Way back to the Father, and this is what we need.

The second lesson we can learn here is that in times of trials, you will see God's provision.

We read in verses 14 to 16 that as Abraham entered Egypt and was successful in concealing his relationship with his wife before the eyes of the Egyptians, Abram acquired wealth for her sake. However, the reputation of his wife was at risk. Sarah was taken into the Pharaoh's Harem and in return, Pharaoh gave Abraham sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and servants.

During Moses' time, a similar event took place. Before the Israelites left Egypt, the Egyptians gave huge quantities of pieces of jewelry to the Jews. The Bible describes this as a way of plundering the Egyptians (Exodus 12:35-36).

In both cases, the method God used to provide for His people seems questionable. However, the lesson we must learn here is that despite human frailty or mistakes, God remains sovereign and He overrules human situations and even uses them to provide for His people.

Yes, there are times when it is difficult to understand the ways of God. In the case of Abraham, instead of protecting his wife, he risked the reputation of his wife in order to save his life. In a way, we can say that Abraham even risked the promise of God for what he did. However, God remains faithful and powerful. He did not allow His promise to be frustrated by human mistakes. And despite Abraham's weakness, God still provided for his needs.

If the provision of God ultimately depends on us, I think many of us would undergo far greater difficulty. Even at times, we fail God, but God still provides for He is gracious and He knows that we are weak.

None of us want to become poor. We do our best to improve our economic well-being and I think that's the reason why we are on Hive. However, once our needs are well-provided and become well-off, there is a temptation for us to say that it is our own power and strength that produced our wealth (Deuteronomy 8:17). Agur describes this as disowning God once we have too much (Proverbs 29: 9). And so we must guard our hearts that when God provides for our needs, we should not lose sight of the One who provides.

God provides for our needs not to distract us from our journey in life. He wants us to continually depend on Him. And he knows that our biggest need can only be obtained through His Son, the Bread of Life, the Manna that came down from above.

The third and final lesson we learn from this story is that in times of trials, God Himself will protect you.

Like the way God provided for Abraham, the manner of his protection was also strange (verses 17 to 20). It was Abraham's fault that placed Sarah in a difficult situation, and became Pharaoh's wife. As King of Egypt, no man was powerful enough to frustrate the will of Pharaoh. However, God showed that even in Egypt, He remained Sovereign and Pharaoh was still under His rule. God demonstrated His power by inflicting serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household. As a result, Pharaoh summoned Abraham, returned the latter's wife, and sent them away.

The same thing happened during Moses' time. When Pharaoh refused to allow the Jews to worship God in the wilderness, God sent ten plagues upon Egypt until the will of Pharaoh was broken, and finally decided to send the Israelites away.

In both stories, we see that God distinguished between his people and Egypt. The protection that God gave to His people spelled disaster for Egypt.

In Hebrews 13: 5-6, we read:

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper' I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'

The fear of man is a great snare that many biblical characters have fallen into. Abraham fell into it during that time of famine. He was afraid of godless men in Egypt. King Saul also fell into this snare two times. He was afraid of the Philistines which caused him to offer the burnt offering that should only be performed by the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 13:7-12). He also failed to follow the command of the Lord by completely destroying the Amalekites due to his fear for his own people (1 Samuel 15:24).

In the New Testament, even apostle Peter was not exempted from the fear of man. He denied the Lord three times because of this. Even after his restoration, the fear of man was not totally removed from Peter. The apostle Paul rebuked him for his hypocrisy due to his fear of the circumcision group (Galatians 2:12).

What is your biggest fear in life? Is God able to protect you from it? What is your greatest fear that you don't want to happen to you? If God allows it, will you still believe that God is capable of protecting and restoring you? Yes, he is for he has already solved man's biggest problem, sin.

In the Bible, the greatest disaster that came to humanity was the entrance of sin into this world. There is no way a man can protect himself from the misery caused by sin, except the solution that God has already provided, the death of His Son on the Cross. No human solution is available, neither legislation nor education. What we need is redemption. And in order for us to be redeemed, Jesus laid down His life for us on the Cross. And the kind of death that Christ suffered on the Cross is a death only for the cursed. Paul said that Christ became a curse for us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to us through Jesus (Galatians 3:13-14). The Cross of Jesus provides us with the greatest protection from all forms of evil in this world.

Conclusion

In reflecting on Genesis 12:10-20, we learned that famine, mistakes, and diseases were used by God to direct, provide, and protect Abraham. Similarly, whenever you experience trials in life such as economic or emotional struggles, remember that in God you can obtain direction, provision, and protection. Always remember that the Spirit of God will teach you through the word to give you wisdom and guidance, that in Jesus your ultimate needs have already been provided, and that the power of God is able to protect you from all harm.

Grace and peace!