Regardless of where we are in our faith journey, there are days and chapters and seasons of our lives when our faith falters. Those moments when we walk by sight and not by faith. The Bible does not encourage us to stumble but it does encourage us when we do. Throughout the pages of the Bible, we find great heroes of the faith who stumbled – Abraham, David, Peter, Paul, and many more.

In Genesis 12:8-13:4, the Bible records one of the moments in Abram’s (Abraham) life when his faith faltered. From his experience, we discover at least three reasons our faith falters and the warning signs.

  1. Personal Carelessness – The call of Abram in Genesis 12:1-8 ends with him building an altar. A place set aside for him to worship the Lord for who He is and all He had accomplished in Abram’s life. There is no mention of an altar or worship in his faith-faltering moment. Abram began to neglect the place where he met with the Lord. When we neglect our relationship with God, we become careless and take matters in our own hands. It is not that God cannot be trusted. It is that we do not trust Him due to our own personal carelessness.
  2. Personal Crisis – Genesis 12:10 records that there was a famine in the land. Abram did not expect it. Unexpected problems and disappointments and even persecutions catch us off guard at times. Some think that when they trust Christ and become a Christian that all their troubles will end. That is not true. The difference is without Christ we face them alone. In Christ, He guides and grows us through them.
  3. Personal Compromise – Gensis 12:10b says that “Abram went down to Egypt…” In the Bible, Egypt is a picture of the world. Because of his personal carelessness with the Lord, when crisis hit (and it will) he compromised by lying to Pharaoh about his wife. Abram depends on himself and the world rather than the Lord to guide him through the difficulty.

When life happens and my tendency is to falter in my faith, I want to learn how to trust Him more and more!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight.”  Proverbs 3:5-6