A GOD OF ABUNDANCE
Kendra Intihar
Today’s Scripture: “Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.” Proverbs 23:4, ESV
Theme: Don’t pressure yourself to acquire wealth; instead, trust God’s provision.
ABRAM TRUSTED GOD’S PROVISION
When Abraham was still “Abram,” God chose to partner with him in His grand and glorious plan to reveal His love for humanity, and Abram trusted God’s provision. God had proven his faithfulness to Abram time and time again. And time and time again, Abram proved his capacity to trust God with everything in his life.
Abram believed God when He said He would make him into a great nation (Genesis 12:2). Instead of wondering how God would accomplish this through his barren wife, Sarai, Abram trusted God’s promise.
Abram went out from his people as God told him (Genesis 12:4), even though it was culturally offensive to leave your father’s household. Instead of taking the path of least resistance, he trusted God’s leading.
Abram migrated from place to place, pitching his temporary tent and building altars to the Lord. Instead of building a city and settling in the place where God said his offspring would dwell, He honored the Lord and kept moving (Genesis 12:7-8). He trusted that God would establish his legacy at the right time.
Abram trusted God’s provision…until he didn’t.
FAMINE AND SCARCITY
You see, around that time, there was a famine in the land. We know that the Hebrew people had a contentious relationship with Egypt, but this was the moment it all began. In ancient times, before the advent of dams and modern farming, Egypt’s Nile River flooded once every year, in August. The Egyptians could count on it, like clockwork, to create the necessary mud for growing crops and feeding the Egyptian people. People could trust the Nile to provide food for them.
Despite seeing God’s faithfulness and embracing his call, Abram got worried and took his wife Sarai down to Egypt where he knew there would be food. He and Sarai hatched a plan to tell the Egyptians that Sarai was his sister instead of his wife. Of course, this was partially true (Genesis 20:12), but Abram’s intent was to mislead any potential Egyptian suitors so that he would be “treated well for [her] sake” (Genesis 12:13). Sarai must have been the world’s most beautiful 65-year-old woman, because not only did she attract a suitor – she attracted the most powerful suitor in Egypt: Pharaoh.
YOU CAN TAKE THE HEBREW OUT OF EGYPT…
You may remember the story. Abram was, indeed, “treated well” for Sarai’s sake. Pharaoh gave him extraordinary gifts of great value: Pharaoh became Abram’s provision in that moment. In Egypt, he acquired sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and male and female servants. And one of those servants in particular was going to prove to be a real complication in the story of Abram and Sarai. But first, the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household as a result of Pharaoh taking Abram’s wife Sarai as his own. As soon as Pharaoh realized this, he sent Abram and Sarai on their way. But Abram took all of those new Egyptian treasures – including the servants – with him. Abram may have left Egypt, but Egypt didn’t leave Abram.
Keeping “Egypt” and its provisions within their household gave Abram and Sarai the idea that they could execute God’s plan and promise for offspring better than God could. This series of questionable decisions led to the story of Hagar, the Egyptian slave, and her son – Abram’s son – Ishmael.
Abram’s legacy story was changed forever because he trusted the provision of kings over the provision of God. Despite his many slip-ups, Abram was God’s choice to be the Father of Nations, and God redeemed his messy story, just like He redeems yours and mine.
Make it Personal: In the world today, especially with things like supply chain issues, product shortages, and other modern day “famines,” it is easy to want to collect and hoard money, supplies, and other resources. We are so concerned about scarcity that we forget that we serve a God of abundance. We serve a God who promises to supply our every need (Philippians 4:19). We do not need to keep “Egypt” in our pockets, relying on our own cleverness to survive in this world. Instead, let’s be “discerning enough to desist” (Psalm 23:4) and empty our pockets of the provision of kings so that we can receive God’s abundance in our lives with open hands.
Pray: Lord, we are wearing ourselves out to accumulate wealth when You have told us You will supply our every need. Wrench our scarcity mindset away from us so that we can rest in Your abundant provision. Remove the pressure to acquire and the pain caused by worrying that we won’t have enough. Remind us that You are enough. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Read: Philippians 4:19; Matthew 6:33; Psalm 23:1
Weekly Memory Verse: “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” Hebrews 13:5, ESV