GENESIS 20:1-13
If you are a fan of Shakespeare, you will notice that in each of his tragedies, his main character suffers some flaw. He gives each hero a fatal flaw – a normal human emotion or characteristic taken to its extreme, that directly leads to their downfall. It makes for a good story and teaches some important lessons. The same is true of our Bible hero Abraham. His flaw was fear.
On two occasions Abraham allowed his fear of being killed because of his wife to push him into deception (Gen. 12:11-20; 20:2-13). With fear dictating his actions, he put at risk the lives of Pharaoh and Abimelech who would have constituted obstacles to God’s plan that through him and Sarah a great nation would arise (Genesis 12:1-3).
But wait! We should not be too quick to judge Abraham. Let us ask ourselves a few questions. For fear of being scoffed or misunderstood, would we neglect sharing the gospel and put peoples eternity at risk? For fear of appearing old-fashioned, would we set aside our values? For fear of losing our job, would we compromise our uprightness? Only one thing will conquer our fears: firm faith in God’s presence, protection, power, and promises.
Remember that God will never ask us to do anything He cannot bring to completion, even if it requires miraculous intervention on His part.
Let our faith overcome our fears.
🙏 Lord, thank You for giving us the spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. Remove from us the spirit of fear, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
