When Will I Ever Learn?

Genesis 20

You'd think Abraham and Sarah would have learned from their experience in Egypt - but they make the same mistake again in Gerar; they tell the king, Abimelech, that Sarah is Abraham's sister. While it wasn't really a lie, it was designed to mislead the king into believing that Sarah was not Abraham's wife. Again, Abraham is depending on his own cleverness to save himself from what he perceives as a threat to his life.

It's tempting to look at this and think, "How stupid of Abraham - didn't he learn anything from his experience in Egypt?" But what I am amazed by is God's reaction. He stands by Abraham, He defends him and protects him. This interaction between Abraham and God tells me that God doesn't get fed up with us when we make the same dumb mistakes repeatedly. This is very encouraging to me, because I also tend to make the same mistakes over and over. I have a difficult time learning from my past experiences and I tend to depend on my own "cleverness" too much. When will I ever learn? God is there for me. He cares about me and my family and He wants the very best for us. Most of all, He wants me to trust Him.