A Lack of Conviction
Yesterday we saw how Sarai's lack of faith caused her to follow the worldly ways of the culture around her instead of God's ways. But notice this at the end of verse 2 in Genesis 16, the verse says: “She said to Abraham, ‘The Lord has kept me from having children. Go sleep with my slave. Perhaps I can build a family through her.’” And then this little sentence at the end of that verse: “Abram agreed to what Sarai said.”
Now, it's easy for us to miss that, because it's this little sentence that gets tucked away at the end of the verse. But Abram shows quite a lack of conviction here. He was the one who received this great promise from God, and no doubt shared this with his wife, that God was going to bless them with a child. But when she tries to force God's hand and comes up with an idea that is not what God wanted, Abram just goes along with it.
Stand Firm Always
Don't we do the same sometimes? We just go along with things instead of standing up for what we know is right. Often this can happen in the workplace, where there are unjust work practices or ungodly things going on, and we just go along with it instead of standing up for what is right.
It happens at home as well, as was the case with Abram and Sarai. Sarai drifted away from God and Abram just went with it. Sometimes with our family, with our friends, people that we are close to, if they drift away from God, we can just drift with them instead of standing for what we believe in.
Stand Firm in Faith
And you know, in the New Testament, Paul would often tell his people to stand firm. If you just search that in your Bible app or go through the words of your Bible, you'll see “stand firm” a lot. For example, 2 Thessalonians 2:15, he says, “Brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.” Galatians 5:1 “It was for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” And famously in Ephesians 6:14, talking about the armor of God, Paul says “Stand firm with the belt of truth buckled around your waist.”
You see, it's so easy for us to just drift and follow along what people who are far from God want us to do. But if we stand firm in faith, holding tight to Christ, not letting ourselves be pulled here and there, but sticking to what we know is right, we will reap the reward.
So let's not fall into the mistake Abram did, but let's stand firm and wait for God's blessings at the appointed time that he is given.
