FAITH-PROMISE
About 2100 BC, a man by the name of Abram was told by God to:
“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house
To a land that I will show you.”
(Genesis 12:1)
We don’t know what really transpired between Abram and God for him to be given these instructions. Did Abram protest or argue with God? Did he have a lot of questions? How long was it between the directive to leave and the compliance with that request? What we do know, however, is that Abram did accept God’s order on faith and departed for lands unknown.
Later on God said that He would bless Abram (now Abraham) and Sarah with a child. In spite of Abraham’s previous experience with God, he “…fell on his face and laughed” (Genesis 17:17) and so did Sarah. As a result, they took matters into their own hands and thus Ishmael was born. They did not have the faith to wait for God to fulfill His promise because it was about 25 years between when God had said: “To your descendants I will give this land” (Genesis 12:7) and the birth of Issac, the only child of Abraham and Sarah. Perhaps that is what made Abraham realize the need to continue to have faith in God. But he again indicated his faith when God told him to: “Take now your son, your only son Issac…and offer him…as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you” (Genesis 22:2). When Abraham went to make the sacrifice, his hand was stayed and God said: “Do not lay your hand on the lad…for now I know that you fear God…” (Genesis 22:12).
Although he evidently doubted in many instances, Abraham’s ultimate faith in God was stated this way: “And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). Doubting or questioning does not imply a lack of faith but needing absolute certainty does because “…faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Abraham evidently believed God when he left his homeland and when he felt that God would do something to avoid Issac bring sacrificed. After all, God had told him that: “…you shall be a father of many nations” (Genesis 17:4) and also that: “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed…” (Genesis 22:18); difficult promises to keep if your son is sacrificed.
Likewise, Moses was reluctant to go when called by God to return to Egypt to free His people. “…‘But suppose they will not believe in me or listen to my voice…’” for “…‘I am not eloquent…but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue’” (Exodus 4:1&10). In spite of his protestations and reluctance, Moses did go in the faith that God would do what He had promised.
Going in faith to receive a promise about which God had spoken is much of what the Bible is about. Going on in spite of doubts and questions to situations unknown and having the strength to rely on God’s promises and His Word has not changed over the centuries, even if the world has. That is why we must “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7) for “…the just shall live by faith…” (Hebrews 10:38) and “…without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
So as Abraham, Moses, and the other patriarchs relied on God’s word and promises in the past, so must we today. After all, “…the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory…” (John 1:14) and the promises given through the Word still hold. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believed in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The key word here is “should” because if one really has the faith, then, as in the past, appropriate action needs to follow. As Christ stated, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord,Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). James puts it this way: “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only…” (1:22) because “…faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17).
Just as the ones of old had evidence in support of their faith walk, so do we today. Historians and researchers state that there is more evidence to support the death, burial, resurrection, and subsequent sightings of Christ than there is to support the writings of Julius Caesar or almost any event in ancient history. Thus as we approach the time we commemorate Christ’s death and resurrection, let us remember that doubts and questions often accompany faith but true faith results in action in spite of those uncertainties. True faith also still leads to the promises that God has stated: “…that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6) and that such a person “…should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
It’s a promise worth having faith for and certainly something to think about.
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