Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. -Gen 12:10
Think of the amazing journey that he had just taken. In Genesis 12 Abram packed up and moved everything based on God's word alone. He came to his destination where God appeared and promised the land to his descendants. Then Abram built an altar and worshipped the Lord. Perfect. Just what we all want in our walk of faith. God speaks, we respond, God shows up and delivers on His promise, the end. At least that is where most of us would choose to end it. The story however isn't over. What happens next? Famine!
This contradicts every expectation we have about the promises of God. We expect that God's promises will be fulfilled through a process of gradual and systematic accomplishment. We expect Abram to build his house right next to the altar. Then he would raise his family and gradually over generations they would spread out and possess the land God promised. That however was not Abram's experience.
There is no indication that God offered Abram any explanation. His only option was to endure it. In the middle of the fear, confusion, and the difficulty it is tempting to feel foolish about having ever trusted the Lord. That glorious promise of God becomes a stabbing pain. In Abram's experience, he reacted out of fear and got himself into a real mess. I'm sure it wasn't the triumphal journey of faith he had hoped for.
At a certain point there was no evidence that God was with Abram. All we know is that things had gone very bad and the promises of God were nowhere to be seen. Abram ended up in a disastrous situation. In order to protect himself he lied about his relationship to his wife and nearly lost her to Pharaoh. When all appeared to be lost God rushed in to save them. He was right there making sure they made it through. Even when it looked like God was absent, He was jealously guarding His promises for them.
When I finished school I had plans to intern at a well known ministry in a big city across the country. I had my own ideas of how God would fulfill His word to me through a process of gradual accomplishment and forward movement. Those plans fell apart along with every subsequent plan over the next year. I was in a famine, and I was tempted to lose heart. But at certain times God would break in and remind me of His promises. I began to understand that God is jealous to see His promise fulfilled in me. Even with all my weaknesses and imperfections, God has been working to see me through.
It may seem for a while that all of your circumstances stand in direct contradiction to God's promise for you. It may be a long while! Yet all the time God is there guarding that promise, making sure you make it through. Never allow your present circumstances to cause you to doubt the word of the LORD to you.
Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD. -Ps 27:14
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