Under Pressure

Abram began to journey, aiming for a land the Lord would reveal. Along the way, he turned toward Egypt to supply the needs of his entourage, an obvious lapse of confidence in the God he first began to follow. 

Later in the journey, for a second time, Abram struggled to choose, this time concerning Hagar, his wife’s servant. Abram’s plan altered the plan God had given but Hagar, now suddenly disposable in Sarah’s and Abram’s eyes, did not just go away as they hoped. God did not allow it. 

Times of challenge are teaching times when we learn a lot about ourselves. Resulting pressures expose the true crux of the matter. The challenge may have little to do with the moment, but connects more to something earlier, something hidden in the heart. 

This is true for you today—possibly the one thing you haven’t even considered. Your core problem has become something “more than,” and it will not go away because God will not allow it to go away. 

Under pressure, confronted with information that we never realized we had, we find the end of that rope and, finally, for the first time, acknowledge hidden issues we could not see before the pressure of what we’re going through exposed them. 

The story of Abram’s compromise reminds us that accountability protects us, not just in small and every-day matters but also in major life-changing ways when, left to choose, like Abram, we are lured into wrong, often devastating choices. 

Accountability protects us. Everyone behaves better when someone is watching.

Amen.

Genesis 13:1-4 | Genesis 16 | Psalm 1 | Psalm 51 | Verses@Once