3 minute read that will bless your marriage all week

There’s more than 60 marriage stories in the Bible, here’s one of them: Abraham and Sarah.

To all Men, I am also writing about this same passage from a man’s perspective on the But Grow in Grace newsletter for men, coming out this Monday.

In Genesis 25:10 Abimilech, King of Gerar, asks Abraham a powerful question, “What did you see, that you did this thing?”

“The thing”, Abimelech refers to, is Abraham lying about Sarah being his sister not his wife. It’s the “thing” Abraham also did in Gen 12 when he & Sarah ran into Pharaoh in Egypt. I call it x+y=z that when Abraham met a man he thought more powerful than himself he would do this thing - lie.

Abraham’s lie was his insecurity but it put his wife Sarah in an awkward place, where she had to go along with it too. The lie was also a poor testimony of the Lord at work in Abraham’s life. He’s walking with and for the Lord, but in insecurity is lying and obscuring what God is doing in his life.

Truth is we all, have inner battles, and we all have oddities and things we do that impact our spouse and marriage. It’s being able to answer Abimelech’s question, What did you see, that made you do this thing that gives us opportunity to find freedom in the Lord. Abraham’s answer was:

1. I thought: “I did it because I thought, There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.” Genesis 20:11. Logically, Abraham may be right but, an I thought answer keeps God out of the conversation and keeps the stress to know what to do on Abraham.

2. Half-Truth: Abraham was half right about Sarah being his sister. Yep, it's complicated, she was his wife and half sister - same father, different mother. While we unravel that in our minds, half-truths are fully lies. Abraham walks with the Lord but from where he is emotionally, can’t tell fully tell the truth.

3. Re-Write God: Abraham’s insecurity, the inner place he lied from, led him to say, “And when God caused me to wander…”. What? God didn’t cause Abraham to wander, God was leadinh Abraham toward his promise on his way to God making him great in God’s sight. But, to make room for his inner feelings, Abraham rewrites his relationship with God. Instead of knowing/admitting he’s being led by God and walking in that power, he sees where he is as something he, not God, has to fix.

None, of Abraham’s answers answer the question, What did you see…Instead they show what he didn’t see. He didn’t see God, therefore he had to lie…

What power could Abraham and you and I too gain if we really start to drop that question into our own marriage? Honestly, it’s been a game changer for me to stop relying on my own thoughts, remove deceptive half truths and stop blaming everyone else. SO now I will leave you with my favorite prayer to pray to the Lord this week: Lord, Show me me.

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Hey have a great week! I am praying for your marriage. Hit me on Instagram or Facebook. I am posting a different marriage from the Bible to Instagram everyday in September. Check it out.

Edward