Have you ever been in a situation you can’t fix on your own? What may make it worse is if someone whom you trusted put you there. Situations like this stress me out. I like to be the one who comes up with the solution. So when I am in a bad spot and I can’t do anything about it, I hate it. The good news is as I’ve grown with God, I’ve learned to trust Him more and more.
But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.” And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.
Genesis 12:17-20, ESV
We can focus on Sarai here, but the reality is that both Pharaoh and Sarai were wronged by Abram’s decision. Abram knew that his wife was a beautiful woman who other men, especially men with power, would want. He feared that the Egyptians would kill him in order to take Sarai. Even though God had promised to make him a father of nations, which would imply that God would protect Abram, Abram was scared and he made a huge mistake. He told his wife to tell everyone that she was his sister, which was a half-truth because she was his half-sister. However, the fact that she was his wife was something they were both to keep hidden.
Thinking Sarai was only Abram’s sister, Pharaoh took her into his household. Scripture doesn’t tell us if Abram and Sarai’s marriage was compromised by this action. However, even if it wasn’t, it would eventually be. Abram knew full well what the likelihood and the consequences of misleading the Egyptians but he made that horrible decision anyway.
Sarai was in a situation which she couldn’t do anything about. Pharaoh was in a situation that if he knew the truth, he likely would have chosen differently (we can say that with assurance because of God’s promise of Abram’s offspring earlier in the chapter). Abram wasn’t going to fix the situation. The victims, Pharaoh and Sarai, were unable to correct the situation on their own and the one who could wouldn’t. So God stepped in.
Often when I can’t fix a situation, God has stepped in for me, just as He did for Pharaoh and Sarai in this one. He often doesn’t resolve the situation in the manner I would have, but even when He does, it’s always better than I could have done on my own. When God hasn’t stepped in, if I am properly checking in with Him through prayer, I learn a lot about the situation, about myself, and sometimes He gives me insight into why He isn’t stepping in. God doesn’t always fix the situation. For instance, each of his Apostles met their death because of their faith. All but John were martyred. From our perspective, we likely would have thought the “fix” to be to rescue them from death. However, we know from Paul’s writings that he knew his end was coming and that he was looking forward to it, for to him, “to die is gain.” After all, death would mean his work here in this lifetime would have come to an end and he would be able to go forward to his forever home and his reward with Christ. If we think about this deeper, we do realize that God did indeed fix Paul’s situation and to the best possible solution.
Be encouraged, because God can and will step in as He needs to, especially when we are powerless. Be encouraged, because in Romans Paul wrote that God uses all things for the good of those who believe. It may not be in the way we would choose, but it’s always for the best. Be encouraged, because even if our situation is one which brings about suffering, God does not leave us to suffer alone. Be encouraged, for God loves us so much that he will use both good and bad situations to develop us, to mature us, to make us more like Him. Praise our God who love us this much!
Be Encouraged Devotionals 