And when the Egyptians see you, they will say, "This is his wife." Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.

Genesis 12:12-13

To live life is to live with problems.

The question is not

whether

we will face problems but

how

we will respond to the problems of life.

When Abraham reached the land of Canaan he encountered major,

life-threatening

problems: first famine and then the possibility of being killed. Keep in mind, Abraham is obeying God. He is solidly within the will of God. But doing God's will and obeying God does not mean we have problem-free life. (Think of Jesus. Of Paul. Or of any other believer in the Bible.)

Faced with famine, Abraham goes to Egypt. But because Sarah is beautiful, he realizes he might be killed and Sarah taken.

Faced with a life-and-death problem, Abraham resorts to scheming and deception rather than trusting God.

Think of it. Here is the greatest example of faith in all the Old Testament, the man held up in the New Testament as the example of faith, the man who would later trust that God would raise his son from the dead, the friend of God, resorting to deception, manipulation and self-reliance rather than trusting God to deliver him.

It reminds me that any of us can go from faith to failure rather abruptly. Fortunately, God intervenes and protects Sarah, which Abraham had completely failed to do. God is gracious to us even when we are not faithful (or, faith-full) to him.

How about you? (And me!) What problems are you wrestling with these days? Are you scheming how to solve these problems, with manipulation and self-reliance? Or, are you looking to God to come through for you?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And do not lean on your own understanding,

In all your ways acknowledge him,

And he will make straight your paths.

(Proverbs 3:5-6)