February 4 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

Abram's journey with God had hardly begun when he ran into troubles. Canaan was hit by a severe famine. Threatened by this disaster, Abram decided to go to Egypt. There he ran into more snags. He knew that the Pharaoh sometimes abducted the pretty wives of strangers. He feared that he might be killed. So Abram suggested to Sarai that she pose as his sister. And then the problems really started.

Why do these things happen? Why must a man who lives with God in faith and obedience be exposed to the threat of starvation on one hand and the advances of Pharaoh on the other?

We can never refrain from asking these questions. But such questions are useless; they lead to unfruitful discussions.

The only really important question is how a person behaves in the face of such threats. At such a time a person may not sit down and sigh, "Why does this happen to me?" These are occasions to say, "Who is the Lord in whom I trust?"

Of course the threats were real. But God is real too. Through Jesus Christ, you and I can face God. Therefore we can also face life and all circumstances. Faith is the refusal to panic.

Abram did very poorly in this test. He lied because he was afraid. He was afraid because he stopped trusting in God as his partner. And then he got entangled in his own scheming.

While we look at Abram, we had better listen to the word of wisdom: "Trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight" (Prov. 3:5-6).

REFLECTIONS

What tests or troubles are you facing today or will you soon face? Ask God to help you trust him and bring you through whatever you're facing.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.