Satan has many strategies for tempting us to believe God. Primarily, though, he begins by insinuating that God is not good. The very first question that the serpent posed to Eve in the garden of Eden followed this pattern: “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1). The serpent made no direct accusation. Instead, he planted a seed of doubt in Eve’s mind about whether God might actually stingy, miserly, and oppressive. Nothing could be further from the truth, since God had instructed Adam and Eve to eat in abundance: “[16] You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, [17] but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:16–17). God abounds in generosity; however, through this initial questioning of God’s goodness, the serpent eventually leads Adam and Eve into their infamous rebellion against their gracious Creator.

Ever since then, the human race has fundamentally believed that God wants to keep us from good things. Whenever God forbids us from doing something, or requires us to do something, or asks or to wait for something, we struggle to trust his intentions. Instead, we interpret those trials as yet still more evidence that God wants to control our lives and keep us from things that will make us happy. In Genesis 14:17–24, Abram faces this exact dilemma. Does he actually believe that Yahweh, God Most High, will be good to him? Can Abram trust Yahweh to fill his hands with good gifts? Or, should Abram diversify his plans for enriching himself by seeking alternative revenue streams apart from Yahweh’s promise? What if those plans are at odds with Yahweh’s commandments? In this story, Abram demonstrates an important principle for walking by faith: Faith may lead us to empty our hands, but faithlessness will leave us empty-handed.