Morning Devotional 041326 Blessed Despite Our Foolishness

Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room

April 12, 2026

Genesis 12:10-20

10 When a famine struck the land, Abram went down toward Egypt to live as an immigrant since the famine was so severe in the land. 11 Just before he arrived in Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know you are a good-looking woman. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife,’ and they will kill me but let you live. 13 So tell them you are my sister so that they will treat me well for your sake, and I will survive because of you.” 14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw how beautiful his wife was. 15 When Pharaoh’s princes saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s household. 16 Things went well for Abram because of her: he acquired flocks, cattle, male donkeys, men servants, women servants, female donkeys, and camels. 17 Then the LORD struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, “What’s this you’ve done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She’s my sister,’ so that I made her my wife? Now, here’s your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning Abram, and they expelled him with his wife and everything he had.

Good Morning! Today is a day of blessings!

I always chuckle when I read, “I know you are a good-looking woman,” Abram’s sense of self-preservation eclipsed doing the right thing. This is a cautionary tale of how fear can cause a believer to fail to trust God and, in turn, fail to protect those they love. This passage also highlights the tension between human weakness—even in heroes of faith—and God's sovereign grace, which intervenes to protect his promise despite Abram's failure.

It is important to place this in the context of Abram’s calling. This happens soon after God has called Abram to leave his home and the promise that he would be blessed, which immediately faces a test (famine). 

We see in Abram, one of God’s chosen, that being called does not mean that we will not face challenges on our faith journey. Answering the call also does not exempt us from times of doubt and making mistakes. 

Abram, like us, is an ordinary, flawed human. By God’s amazing grace, we the ordinary, are blessed and protected from our foolish ways. Praise be to God.

God of Wisdom, you bless us abundantly! Our humanness contains selfish and foolish thoughts. Thank you for calling us to serve you. Thank you. We love you. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

Thought for the day: We are to go where we are called. 

God makes the ordinary, extraordinary!  Pastor Liz