Abraham's Challenge

Romans 4:13-25 is a scripture about Abraham’s faith; and one that I believe that every believer canb e blessed with everyday. Here are some things we can note from this passage.

1. Abraham and his seed received a blessing from the Lord, not because of anything he did, but just because He believed God. (Note that, if you’re a Christian, then you are a seed of Abraham. And that means you have the blessings of Abraham.) – Romans 4:13

2. The promises made to Abraham aren’t for those who fulfill the law. They are ONLY for those who believe. – Romans 4:14

3. Abraham believed God because of God’s mighty abilities. If you’ve seen or heard or read about God’s wonders in your life and in the lives of others, you have more than enough reasons to trust him on whatever matter you may face. Abraham knew that God could raise the dead and can bring something from nothing (Romans 4:17b). At that time, those have not been demonstrated in Abraham’s personal life; but he just believed. He held on to the God who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that one could ever ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).

4. Abraham believed in hope against hope. “Who against hope believed in hope…” (Romans 4:18a). I personally think that this means that despite the fact that there was nothing around him that seemed hopeful; that nothing around him impelled him to believe, he still believed. He was certain beyond all impossibilities that he would become the father of nations just as God had promised/spoken.

Permit me to describe Abraham’s hopeless situation in two short sentences:

• He was a hundred year old childless man with a dead body and was supposed to be the father of nations.

• His wife, Sarah, was a little younger; but with a dead womb. She was to be the one to bare the first child for Father-of-nations, Abraham.
  

Nevertheless, he believed in hope against hope…

5. He was not weak in faith. A weak faith is a legalistic one (See Romans 14). Remember I said Abraham's faith didn't have anything to do with fulfilling the law? A strong faith looks to God's ability. A weak faith looks to man's ability.

6. He did not stagger at the promise of God through unbelief. Stagger (Gr: diakrino) in that passage literally means ‘to separate’, ‘to make a distinction’ or ‘to withdraw from’. So it means, Abraham did not make the mistake of distancing himself or separating himself, his mind, his imagination from the promises of God. He did not second-guess God and say, “Am I sure I heard God well?” He gave no place at all to unbelief. For one whose body was described as dead, I think he does very well to challenge all of us. Our situations aren’t nearly as hopeless as his, yet we give up very quickly. Impatience makes us to throw in the towel and just give up on God. God made this promise to Abraham when he was seventy-five years old; and at 100, he was still holding on.

Challenge #1: Keep holding on. Stagger not!

7. He was strong in faith and gave glory to God. Wow! One could ask, “… gave glory to God for what?” What was glorious around him? That’s where faith speaks louder than doubt.

Challenge #2: Praise God in the storm. Please, praise God in this storm. I tell you brothers and sisters, God owes you nothing. If you die today, He’ll remain God. If you live for 100 years, He’ll remain God. Praise Him. Satan can’t stand when you praise God amidst trials. Praise God even when nothing around you encourages you to. Just praise Him. It’s all about Him. That’s what I’ve been doing, and I tell you, it has helped wane off depression and sadness a great deal. Don’t do it one time. Do it all the time. When you see that sadness and depression setting in again, begin to praise God!

8. He was fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised. I just can't stop wondering what made Abraham “fully persuaded”. Or did Apostle Paul use wrong grammar there? Fully persuaded!!! His body was dead; Sarah’s womb was dead. 25 years since the promise and nothing had shown up. Yet, he was FULLY persuaded. I don’t understand this one myself, but that brings us to …

Challenge #3: Be fully persuaded! God has not told a single lie since He became God (and that is, since forever), and He’s not about to start now. Don’t think you’re that special that God is going to change who He is on your matter… He has never been unfaithful. Not once. Trust me; He won’t start unfaithfulness with you. Be fully persuaded that what He promised, He shall bring to pass.

Nourish Your Spirit