What do you have in view?

In life, we will experience difficult circumstances. God never promised to remove our difficulties simply because we are His. But He does promise to never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6). Whenever we face any difficulty, we need only keep our eyes focused on God and his promises. As long as we are walking in his will, we can be confident that we have God on our side. It’s not always easy to have this confidence which is why we need to continually read God’s word and listen to it so that we can be reminded of His character and promises, thus strengthening our faith.

In Genesis 20, Abraham goes to Gerar and when he arrives he decides to lie to Abimelech, king of Gerar. He tells Abimelech that Sarah is his sister. In a dream, God speaks to Abimelech and instructs him to return Sarah to Abraham. Abimelech confronts Abraham and asks him why he lied about Abraham being his sister. Abimelech then asks Abraham a very significant question. He asks, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?”

Well, Abraham was looking at his circumstances. He wasn’t looking at the fact that he was walking in accordance with God’s will. He seemed to have forgotten that it was God who instructed him to move out of his country and to a land that He would show him. And because of this, Abraham decided to rely on his own “ingenuity” and lie to Abimelech to protect himself. Sarah technically was his sister, Abraham explained to Abimelech.

Like Abraham, how often do we turn to our human strength and intellect to resolve our problems?

Or, like the Isaralites, how often do we simply complain about our problems?

When the Israelites left Egypt, Pharaoh pursued them. “And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord” (Exodus 14:10) Immediately, in the next verse, they start complaining. They say it would have been better to stay in Egypt than to die in the desert. They, like Abraham, seemed to have forgotten that it was God’s will for them to leave Egypt. They have forgotten all of the powerful works that God did to deliver them from Pharaoh’s hand. The question, “What did you have in view?” would also be fitting here. They had “lifted their eyes” and looked at Pharaoh’s army.

We will encounter problems. They will be real. But, we must ask ourselves, what will I have in view? Will I look at my problems or will I look at my God?