Genesis 20:6-7 (NLT) In the dream God responded, “Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her. Now return the woman to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don’t return her to him, you can be sure that you and all your people will die.”

As Abraham made his way around the Promised Land that was not yet in his possession, he worried that the surrounding people in the land would kill him to take his beautiful wife, Sarah. He told her to say to everyone that she was his sister. As he went into the land where Abimelech was king, Abraham's plan went into effect. King Abimelech, noticing Sarah's beauty and thinking that she was Abraham's sister, had her brought to him at his palace. It's hard to imagine Abraham, a man famous for his faith, not having faith that the Lord would be able to keep him and Sarah safe from the surrounding peoples. It also makes you wonder what he felt when King Abimelech took Sarah for himself. While we don't know the answers to those questions, we do know about the faithfulness of God.

One of the things that we learn about God through the scriptures is that God's purposes will always stand, regardless of the faithfulness of people. If it were up to us doing the right thing at all times, then God's will and purposes would be thwarted consistently. But God is Sovereign and what He has purposed will come to pass. He had purposed for Abraham and Sarah to have a son through whom He would fulfill His promise to Abraham to make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Even though Abraham put his wife and therefore, God's promise in danger, God was on the scene to right the wrong. He appeared to Abimelech in a dream, warning him to not touch Sarah because she was Abraham's wife. Abimelech became alarmed and immediately returned Sarah to her husband while asking God for mercy and justice since he didn't know that Sarah was Abraham's wife. God's solution was to have Abraham, the guy who made the grave error of putting his wife in that situation by not trusting God, pray for him.

What a God we serve! When you belong to God, He patiently teaches you the way to go. Many times, due to our stubbornness, the process is a long one. But the unbelievable truth is that while we are in the learning process and can make some huge mistakes, God covers us. He looks out for us even when we have done some very stupid things that could have led to our demise and that could have hurt others around us. While your best bet is to rely on God for everything by putting your trust in Him and living by faith in Jesus, it makes loving and serving the Lord all the more sweeter as you learn of His loving care over you, even when you go off the right path. It's so good for you to know that God protects you from everything, even from yourself.

Pastor Joey Vazquez