Abram’s Despondency
Abram was a human, not an angel, and we see this firstly in his despondency. Genesis 15:1-3 says "The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: 'Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.' But Abram said, 'Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?' And Abram said, 'You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.'"
Can you hear the despondency in his voice?
The Reality of Post-Victory Slumps
Now, just before this in Genesis 14, Abram had won a remarkable victory. He and his men went and overcame a group of evil kings. He redeemed Lot, who had been carried off. A priest named Melchizedek blessed Abram, and the king of Sodom was so impressed that he offered him a great reward for what he had done.
Yet here, that boldness, that conquering fearlessness seems to have waned. Despite the victory of yesterday, Abram is despondent today. He's human, not an angel. He's tired and troubled.
I can relate. I remember last year I worked on an Emmaus walk. What a special weekend! We saw wonderful things happen in the lives of many men and women. I worked as the Spiritual Director and found it to be a powerful time of ministry.
We all came out of that weekend flying! But soon after I found myself in quite a slump. Tired and struggling to keep up my plans and purposes.
Even Jesus Experienced Discouragement
Abram got into a slump here, despite the powerful victory shortly before. In particular, he got despondent. God had promised to give him descendants as numerous as the sand of the shore, but it still hadn't happened. God came through in other ways, but this one was still seemingly unfulfilled.
Some people would teach that once you become a Christian, you just shake off these types of things. They don't affect you anymore. You're just consistent and upbeat the whole time.
Not Abram. And think of this - Jesus even got despondent here and there, believe it or not. There were times when He seemed to get quite frustrated at His disciples' own lack of growth. One time, we read "He said to His disciples, 'Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?'" (Mark 4:40). Another time the disciples are talking among themselves, and we read "Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them... 'Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?'" (Mark 8:17). Jesus Himself is looking at His situation and getting quite despondent.
Some of you are despondent today as you listen to this. The things you are hoping for are not happening. Yes you've had some victories, you are blessed in some ways. But you're wondering - Lord why haven't you done this? Why is this person still far from you? Why is this situation not resolved? Why are things just going downhill?
My friends, we're humans. We can get despondent. We can get discouraged. We don't have to be superficially upbeat. I think that superficial happiness damages the reality of our faith.
Allow yourself your humanness today, like Abram and even Jesus did!
