When We Are Caught In Fear91('Because I Thought Might Lose My Life')[Gen 26:1-11] / Anne's Faith Column

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When We

Are Caught  In Fear91

('Because I Thought 

Might Lose My Life')

[Gen 26:1-11]

 

 / Anne's Faith Column 

 

/ By Priscilla

 

In today's scripture,

God's blessing came upon Isaac,

and God commanded him to

go to the promised land,

 

and on the way there,

Isaac stayed in 'Gerar'

and suffered a famine.

 

His human actions in the face

of a difficult situation show us

that he was in great anxiety

and fear.

 

According to the prophet

Isaiah in the Bible, God's

 thoughts are not human 

thoughts.

 

Sometimes God's commands

and our circumstances may

look too unfavorable for us

or go against  our realities.

 

However, God commands us

to wait and obey God with faith

until the end, even if we are

faced with difficulties

 

and situations where we do

not make sense.

 

God prepares a special reward

for those who are obedient.

 

In the end, we must know that

God works all things together

for good.

 

During the famine, Isaac may

have wanted to go down

to Egypt, a land of

abundance. 

 

However, God said to Isaac,

"Do not go down to Egypt;

live in the land where

I tell you to live.

 

It means that his future life

definitely depends on how

 much he trusts and obeys God.

 

It is written that Abraham,

the father of faith in the past,

 

obeyed God and kept God's

requirements, commands,

decrees, and laws.

 

God was willing to take

responsibility for his

descendants based on

Abraham's faith.

 

Nevertheless, Isaac,

like his father Abraham, tried to

protect himself by deceiving his

wife as a sister when he stayed

 

in Gerar under the circumstances

he faced—just like his father

did before he became the

father of faith.

 

But in the end, when his lie

was revealed by 'Abimelech',

the king of the Philistines,

Isaac must have been so

embarrassed.

 

King Abimelech rather

asked him as follows: 

 

"What is this you

have done to us?"

 

Today, as Christians,

we have hard lives  at times,

 

and there are many times

when we are given similar

situations like Isaac.

 

And when we are in

an emergency situation

or a crisis that we can be

terribly damaged

in an instant,

 

there are times when we have

no choice but to lie to someone

else in order to get out of the

crisis unintentionally.

 

When there is anxiety

and fear coming upon us,

 

we may be constantly accused

by ourselves or someone else

due to the momentary

actions we may take

in the crisis.

 

But when we pray and

move forward under the

guidance of the Holy Spirit,

 

all our fears and anxieties

will disappear,

 

and we will be able to

 avoid acting ahead

of the Holy Spirit.

 

So, what really causes

 problems in our lives?

 

1) If we act according to our will,

problems can arise even if it

 always seems to be going well.

 

Therefore,

when we are depressed

or disappointed,

 

we should look to the

LORD Almighty.

 

2) We must cast away

our human thoughts and

live by always relying on

God's mighty hand and

outstretched arm.

 

3) We must always overcome

ourselves who are looking at

the environment by looking

at the kingdom of God.

 

Prayer

 

Lord! 

 

Thank you for

guiding me all the time.

 

I sincerely want to overcome

the moment of crisis that comes

like a tide with the help of the

 Holy Spirit and move forward. 

 

I will entrust

my everything to you.

 

Amen.

 

- To Be Continue - 

 

 

2010/08/30

 

/ By Priscilla