After Abram had been in Canaan for a short time, God allowed a time of famine to come. The crops were poor, and there was very little food to eat, nor was there any pasture for his cattle. What was Abram to do? God had told him to come into that land, and had promised to bless him in it, and he must have wondered why God sent the famine. I suppose many questions came into his mind and troubled him. God was testing his faith.
Let us pause for a moment and apply this to our own lives. Many of our readers know the Lord Jesus as their own personal Saviour, and we rejoice in the knowledge that we are the children of God by simple faith in Him. Then someday trials and troubles come upon us. Satan whispers in our ears and says, “Why does God allow these things if He really loves you?” He tells us that the path of following the Lord is too hard, and that we should go after at least some of the pleasures of the world. Are we going to listen to his lies, or choose the path of obedience to the Lord?
Trials of Faith
These are trials of faith, and God allows them to test us. It is easy to go on with other Christians when everything runs smoothly, but when difficulties come, we need to approach the throne of grace for help from above. God has told us to expect suffering in this world, and we should count it a privilege when we think of what Christ has suffered for us. “Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:2929For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; (Philippians 1:29)).
Abram’s Bad Decision
Alas for poor Abram! He made a bad decision. He did not act in obedience to God, but chose His own path. He went down into Egypt. Egypt was the center of the world’s glory and wealth at that time. There wasn’t any famine there, and he thought he would have plenty of everything he wanted. The two things that were really most important he did not, and could not, have there.
He had to fit in with Egypt’s ways, and his tent and altar had no place in that land. Wealth and pleasure were of primary importance in Egypt, and Abram soon found himself doing the same things as the others around him. Yes, he was just like a man of the world, when he should have been a man of faith in Canaan.
Dear young reader, are you going after this poor world as if you were going to stay here forever? You would soon see the emptiness of it all if you caught a glimpse of the glory where Jesus dwells.
One day I was walking down the street, and watching the sun as it set in all its beauty in the western sky. After looking at it for a few moments, I turned to see something in a store window, but the glory of the setting sun had made everything look hazy and dim.
Now we want to tell you about “a light above the brightness of the sun” which we can look upon by faith. It is the glory of God shining in the face of Jesus Christ, and when we have this before our souls, it makes all the pleasures of this poor world look dim.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Further Meditation
1. What two important things did Abram have to leave behind to go into Egypt?
2. What is it that makes what Satan offers to us in his world so exciting? What are some of the things that Solomon tried to see if they would bring happiness? You’ll find many of them described in the book of Ecclesiastes.
3. The simple little leaflet Not of the World by J. N. Darby is full of quotes that would a be a real encouragement to anyone who reads and meditates on them.