In Monday’s reading, God called Abraham to go “unto a land I will shew thee…” So, Abraham set out on his journey. 

When he arrived in Canaan, the Lord appeared to him and said this is the place. I will give this land to your children. So, Abraham pitched his tent, built an altar, and called upon the name of the Lord. Hebrews later tells us this is the first way Abraham demonstrated his faith (Hebrews 11:8).

The second way Abraham demonstrated his faith is that he sojourned there (Hebrews 11:9). But look at what he did before this: “And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.”

He made a mistake. Before he sojourned in the land of promise, he went on and sojourned in Egypt. He had his reasons, to be sure. There was a famine. He was trying to survive. Still, it wasn’t his faith that took him to Egypt.

Things got worse from there. Another mistake and Pharaoh started having designs on his wife. Not good. At this point, God intervened and Abraham did something faithful people have done ever since. He repented. Abraham went back to the altar he built and called on the name of the Lord again. 

Our lesson from this isn’t about geography. It’s about the heart. The Bible doesn’t say that righteous men and women never fall. It says they get back up and try again (Proverbs 24:16). If you happen to make a mistake, take heart and renew your faith in God. Wherever you find yourself, trust him and move forward in his promise. That’ll get you back on track.