But indeed she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.” (Gen 20,12-13)

The agreement that Sarah was to refer to Abraham as her brother shows the harsh and uncertain times in which Abraham lived. There was no governmental administration of the territories in which he moved, no place to turn for help, no place to seek justice. Any stronger tribe or band of raiders meant a legitimate fear that he would be killed for Sarah's sake. To prevent that, Sara was to tell half-truths and claim to be his sister - and knowingly put herself at risk of being taken from him. In ancient times, having a harem of one's own was a sign of a ruler's manly strength, and if Pharaoh had it, then any regional ruler was going to be like him.

The risk that Sarah would be taken into a foreign harem because of this half-truth eventually came to fruition twice. These were certainly fateful and tragic moments for both. Yet they preferred to take this risk rather than risk the death of Abraham, which would have meant the final end of the family.

Probably, then, the drought forced Abraham to descend from his high places into a foreign region in which he did not feel at all safe - and that, let us consider, even with his hundreds of men! He left a place where he had prospered for years and his flocks had grown. He did not leave because he wanted to do something wrong, to enrich himself, to get anything wrong, etc. He just needed to solve a particular problem, a crisis in which he found himself.

The lesson for us is this: we are able to arrange our lives so that they flow in certain ruts, moving in predictable situations. Everything works, thrives and we are happy - in everyday life, family, work and in our life of faith. But there are times when this course is disrupted, when our train is unexpectedly thrown off the switch. So we experience surprise, shock, we have to react - we don't know how, but we have to do something! Will we do the right thing? If it hadn't been for the drought, this shameful episode in Abraham's life would not have happened...

These crises, "switches" if you will, are unpredictable in life and we cannot be prepared for 100%. One can only remain vigilant and not leave the heights in the heart if one must already leave them externally. But let us be aware of the fact that our ability to overcome them determines how far we can go on our journey and not fail. The verse from 1K10:13 gives us confidence that this is possible: "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."