Faith — The Detour - Monday
TODAY’S VERSE
Genesis 12:10
Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. (ESV)
We are right in the middle of summer, and it’s the season of road trips! Maybe you’re even reading this on a trip right now! Summer is also “camp season” for our Student Ministry, and as fun as a road trip can be, you haven’t lived until you’ve road-tripped on a charter bus with 50 middle or high school students!
I remember one of the first camps I ever helped with. We got on a bus and headed to St. Louis first, then to Michigan, and then back home to Kentucky. Somewhere along the way, our driver pulled off of the main interstate and started taking back roads for a detour. Turn after turn, the road got more and more narrow until, no joke, we wound up at a dead end SURROUNDED by corn fields. At this point we’re thinking, “How did we end up HERE?”
We talked this Sunday about a detour that Abram took, and I don’t know about you, but I know I can relate. He was moving along, even following where God was leading him, and all of a sudden, he and his family found themselves in the middle of a famine. This wasn’t what he expected! If he’s following God’s plan, things should get easier, right?
Maybe you took the step to get baptized and were on a spiritual mountaintop, as you should be! Or maybe you committed to growing in your relationship with Jesus and started serving or joined a group. But days later, you went to work to find out you no longer had a job. Or you went to the doctor, and they found something concerning that they needed to take a closer look at. If we’re honest, moments like that can be disorienting and feel like a gut punch.
In Genesis 12:10, we see that when Abram is faced with a famine, he has a choice to make. Is he going to stay the course that God is leading, or take a detour? Abram’s response in this moment had consequences, and our responses, when we face trials in our lives, also have consequences. And the Bible is clear that we will face trials. Following Jesus is the absolute best, but He never said it would be easy. We can choose to stay the course with Jesus, or we can find ourselves on a detour in the middle of a cornfield asking, “How did we end up here?”
APPLICATION
Are you currently facing a difficult situation? Do you know someone who is? Make the choice to lean into Jesus, not away from Him. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” Bring it to Jesus in prayer.
PRAYER
Father, You are good even when our circumstances are not. Help me trust in You, even when I don’t understand the big picture. Use it all to help me know You better.