There are tons of examples of people's faith in Scripture and just came across again the account of Abraham's faith in God. He hoped against all odds that the God who made everything is the God who keeps His promises. Wow. This is the same God of today, I can trust 100% of His promises in His Word and bank on them with all my heart that He will complete the work He has started in me (Phil.1:6) because of the finished work Jesus completed on the Cross. This is the Living God and He has given me Living Hope through Jesus Christ.
The chapter below in Romans is such a helpful reminder that my sins are forgiven based on my faith and not my works! For faith is a gift from the Lord (Eph. 2:8-9) Therefore, there is no boasting in my flesh! This example of the Lord's faithfulness to Abraham is so helpful to me. He didn't let the fact that he was old or that his wife was barren get in the way of what the Lord had promised him. He decided that he would hope against hope and believe what God had said and wait for the Lord to bring about this promise. He trusted the character of God verse the external things.
There are thousands of promises listed throughout Scripture that are a guarantee for the Christian. Though my circumstantial desires that are not fulfilled and can tend to tempt me to despair and grow weak in faith, I have trustworthy promises that are mine in Christ Jesus and will be answered in the Lord's due time. I want to focus on those truths and cast my cares on the Lord that He knows my heart's desires and will give me the grace to wait in hope. And in waiting seeing that it can be a season of worship to my King. I want to fill my mind with the promises of God and 'hope against hope' that He has my best and His glory at hand. Let us press on to maturity like Abraham, even when 'hope deferred makes the heart grow sick' (Prov.13:12a) We have a new heart given to us with eternal glory that far outweighs any earthly sorrow/blessing. Praise the Lord that my inheritance is not of things of this world, but is found in Jesus alone!
Romans 4
1. What then shall we say
was gained by
Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh?
2. For if Abraham was
justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
3 For
what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as
righteousness.”
4. Now to the one who
works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.
5. And to
the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith
is counted as righteousness,
6. just as David also
speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from
works:
7. “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
8. blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
and whose sins are covered;
8. blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
9. Is this blessing then
only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was
counted to Abraham as righteousness.
10. How then was it
counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not
after, but before he was circumcised.
11. He received the sign
of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was
still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe
without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as
well,
12. and to make him the
father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in
the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was
circumcised.
The Promise Realized Through Faith
13. For the promise to
Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come
through the law but through the righteousness of faith.
14. For if it is the
adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is
void. 15. For the law brings
wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
16. That is why it
depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed
to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who
shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
17.as it is written, “I
have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he
believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do
not exist.
18. In hope he believed
against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been
told, “So shall your offspring be.”
19. He did not weaken in
faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was
about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s
womb.
20 .No distrust made him
waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave
glory to God,
21. fully convinced that
God was able to do what he had promised.
22.That is why his faith
was “counted to him as righteousness.”
23. But the words “it was
counted to him” were not written for his sake alone,
24. but for ours also. It
will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our
Lord,
25.who was delivered up
for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
