Fear. Whether we want to admit it or not, fear is something that we have to wrestle with. The fear of standing on the ladder that's two stories high. Fear of a spider crawling on your skin. The fear of snakes. The fear of standing on a stage with the spotlight beaming on you. The fear of getting sick and battling a future disease. The fear of losing a job. The fear of being alone. The fear of death and not being completely certain what will happen after you die.
While some fears may seem small, any fear can have a crippling effect. Our minds and our bodies can seize up, becoming almost paralyzed. For some, just thinking about it, like imagining that spider crawling on your skin, can fill us with fear.
What do we do when the ugly little head of fear begins to creep into our lives? What is it that causes you fear? An example of Abram's life shows us what we should do and what we shouldn't do.
PRAYER
I'll give you a little background to set the scene. A Great famine swept across the land of Canaan. God had called Abram to Canaan and made a covenant with him to provide land and offspring. Because the famine was so severe, fear kicked in and Abram chose to take his family to Egypt. You might think that Abram’s survival instinct may have led him to do what he thought was wise, but let's call it what it is - fear. God had called Abram to Canaan, but an uncertainty led Abram to resettle his family in Egypt.
Genesis 12:10-13 – “There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to stay there for a while because the famine in the land was severe. 11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife, Sarai, “Look, I know what a beautiful woman you are.
12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me but let you live. 13 Please say you’re my sister so it will go well for me because of you, and my life will be spared on your account.”
Do you see it? As Abram approached Egypt, his mind started to zero in on his fear. He started to think about everything that his family was going to be facing. In Egypt, they would be considered foreigners with no rights or protection. Abram had fled the famine in fear, but he seemed to have traded THAT fear for the fear of being oppressed by the Egyptians.
Fear has a lot of power over us. Because of its power, fear can cause us to act erratically. We see that display of fear in Abram as he hands his beautiful wife, Sarai, to the Egyptian pharaoh so that his own life would be spared. We might think that Abram was being totally irrational in passing Sarai off as his sister and not his wife. But maybe it was in line with the cultural thinking of that time. Abram may have truly thought he was protecting his own life and doing the right thing, even though this was a partial lie.
I say a partial lie because Sarai really was Abram’s half-sister. They both had the same father, Abimelech, but not the same mother. This might sound strange to us, but in the ancient world, marriage within a family or tribe was common. It wasn’t until later in biblical history that the law was established that prohibited it. So, he didn’t tell pharaoh the whole truth. She was his sister. He just didn’t mention that they were married. But again, fear can cause us to do some erratic things.
As we talk today about having confidence in the face of fear, we need to remember that God is with us in our moments of fear. I thought of that as I thought about this story that one man told.
He said, "When I was a little boy, my dad tried to teach me how to swim. It was the first time I'd be swimming without a life jacket. I was terrified. I feared being under the water for too long, and the thought of drowning haunted me. And for some reason, I was scared my dad would let go of me.
When he finally was able to loosen the death grip of my arms around his neck, I'd like to tell you I calmly began the butterfly stroke with no assistance from my dad, swimming laps gracefully around the pool. It was quite the opposite. I was thrashing around hysterically, screaming at the top of my lungs. I was a picture of pandemonium.
In the midst of my panic, I clearly remember my dad calling out to me, ”Look at me! Focus on me! I've got you, so focus on me.” As difficult as that was to do in that moment, I slowly began to focus more on my father. As long as I focused on my father, the less I focused on the fear splashing around me, and I simply treaded water. My dad taught me a principle that applies to all of life: the more we focus on our father, the less we focus on our fear.
How true that is. Fear and uncertainty strike at all of us. In those moments, we need to remember what Abram seemed to have forgotten: God is with us and he will take care of us. In those moments, we must take our attention off of the fear and focus instead on the father.
Genesis 12:14-16 – “When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh, so the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s household. 16 He treated Abram well because of her, and Abram acquired flocks and herds, male and female donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels.”
When Abram arrived in Egypt, the beauty of his wife, Sarai, captured the attention of the palace officials. Sarai went along with her husband's scheme. The officials raced to the Pharaoh with the news that a beautiful new woman was available in his land. In exchange for Sarai, the pharaoh gave Abram many valuable gifts.
The scripture is silent regarding any response from Sarai, but she surely must have felt betrayed by her husband. Confusion, hurt, and fear were probably not far off.
Abram’s time in Egypt brings up another important truth: fear not only can reduce our faith, but it also can affect the faith of those around us. By relying on his circumstances instead of putting his confidence in God's promise, Abram’s choice affected Sarai and also forced her to lie.
So, here we have Abram and Sarai, half-siblings, telling a half truth. But we need to remember that a half-truth always equals a whole lie. There's no way around it. Concealing the truth with a lie keeps us from healing and moving forward. The fear of getting caught or the fear of telling the full story only shows the lack of confidence we have in God to go before us. Those fears can lead to lies, those lies only lead to hurting ourselves and those around us. We need to learn to refuse to cave into sin when we feel afraid.
Genesis 12:17-20 – “But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife, Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh sent for Abram and said, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?
19 Why did you say, ‘She’s my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Then Pharaoh gave his men orders about him, and they sent him away with his wife and all he had.”
Abram’s lie to the Egyptians didn't end well. Sarai was taken to Pharaoh's household and scripture says that the Lord struck pharaoh and his household with severe plagues. Of course, this made Pharaoh angry. He questioned Abram and he dismissed Sarai, ordering them to leave. Isn't it ironic that we see a pagan pharaoh calling out the great, faithful patriarch Abram. How humbling that must have been for Abram to get a moral lesson from a pagan pharaoh. Shouldn't it have been the other way around?
Abram might have been a great influence among the Egyptians, pointing them away from their idols and leading them to the one true God. But that opportunity for Abram to exercise any leadership was being torn apart because of his fear and his lack of faith.
The level of our fear and faith today can have the same ripple effect on others either for good or bad. Fear and faith are both contagious. When trouble comes, or when we have the opportunity to lead or influence others, we should think about how our attitudes and actions will impact them. We should ask, am I spreading fear or encouraging faith? And, of course, we should never pass up the opportunity to encourage others to trust in God. Now notice what Abram did.
Genesis 13:1-4 – “Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev—he, his wife, and all he had, and Lot with him. 2 Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. 3 He went by stages from the Negev to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly been, 4 to the site where he had built the altar. And Abram called on the name of the Lord there.”
After Pharaoh gave the order for Abram to leave Egypt, Abram took his wife Sarai, his family, and all his possessions and started the journey back into Canaan. I wonder what could have been going on in Abram's mind as He travel through the dry desert of the Negev after such a spiritual defeat. We can only speculate, but when I think of my own times of defeat, I imagine he may have felt insecurity and guilt over his failure.
When Abram heard the words from pharaoh to go, he might have recalled God's promise when God told him to “go from your land” in verse 1. Abrams seemed to forget God's promise when he felt threatened, but that's true for most of us.
We seem to forget or doubt God's promise and calling on our lives when fear steps in. Unfortunately, when we come face to face with our failures, we often think God no longer can use us for ministry. But it is in those moments when we must remember that, even when we are unfaithful, God remains faithful. God defines faithfulness by His very character. That is just who He is. When God makes a promise, He will keep it.
We are told in verse 4 that Abram went back to where he first built his altar and he called on the name of the Lord there. Maybe Abram retraced his steps back to that place to show humility. Maybe he went back to express his remorse for his misconduct. Or maybe it was to renew his allegiance to God. He probably needed to remind himself of the original promise. Maybe it was to show his gratitude for God's mercy. Or maybe it was a combination of all of these.
The important thing is that he understood who he was and who God is. Abram’s act of worship reflects his recognition of the incredible mercy God granted to him instead of the incredible judgment He could have granted. Again, God defines faithfulness by His very character. That is just who He is. Paul reminds us of this in:
Romans 8:1-2 – “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, 2 because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
After we fail, it can be so easy to wallow in our failure and to stop moving and allowing God to move in us. We need to know that Abram did not stop, nor did he leave his faith in Egypt. He moved back to where he came from, the place where he knew and worshiped god.
Satan loves to grab a shovel and bury us with the guilt of our past failures. But we have to keep moving so that the dirt of guilt doesn't cover us, and we have to keep moving toward the One who loves us and is ever faithful to us. We have to return to Christ, remembering His wonderful truth that therefore, there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.
Even though we recognize that fear reduces our faith and confidence in the Lord, one form of fear actually strengthens our faith. That is a fear that we must increase, not decrease, in our lives. I am talking about a healthy, reverend fear of the Lord.
In Proverbs 14:26, we are told that in the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence. So, the more we deepen our reverent fear of God, the more our faith and trust in His mercy grows. Then, as we understand the depths of God's magnificent power and holiness, the more confident we become, and we are overwhelmed by the heights of His undeserving mercy that He offers to us all.
And that, my friends, is how we can be confident in the face of fear. God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in times of trouble.
As I was preparing this message, God put a verse of Scripture in my heart to share with you as a reminder.
2 Timothy 1:7 – “7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.”
As always, I can only hope that every person within the sound of my voice this morning knows Christ in a personal way. But if you are one of those that does not, please come and share that with me during our response time. I will pray with you and show you how easy it is to know Jesus as your very own personal savior.
