TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
“Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.” Genesis 12:13
Read: Genesis 12:10-16
Listen: Genesis 12
TODAY’S MESSAGE
When God first speaks, Abram shows great movement. Abram responds to God’s call and turns his life upside down in faith. He builds an altar and calls on the name of the Lord, signaling he is leaving all other gods and his former way of life behind.
But Abram doesn’t turn to God in the famine. Instead, he spends “a little time in Egypt” and relapses to his old life of deceit and control. He experiences a gap in his growth with God.
Like Abram, we can “spend time in Egypt” and return to our default modes of deception, control, anxiety, self medication, anger or numbness. Maybe we get caught up in a season and don’t think to turn to God such as while adjusting to college life, settling in a new town, transitioning into retirement, starting a new business or beginning a new relationship. Each activity distracts us, so we don’t move forward with God.
Ending our gap begins with calling out to the Lord. Psalm 63:1 provides a great example to follow: “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.”
IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY
Decide to stop your gap with God. Joining a small group is a great way to jumpstart your faith and get going with God again. Sign up for a small group to help you grow closer to God this season.
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.
