He is Faithful

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Whilst I love the realms of a fantastical world beyond that of a ‘normal’ existence, a world in which to escape, I am glad that the Bible is not a fairy tale. If it were, we would read of a very different story. The heroes of faith would be portrayed as selfless, perfect people and how they nobly responded to God’s call. How they always trusted God, never sinned, and overcame every hardship. But, thankfully, it isn’t. Not only would it be unrelatable, but it would also contradict, perhaps, every walk with God ever undertaken. It is written honestly and shows the faults of even the great biblical figures. Thank goodness I’m not the only work in progress!

Throughout the Bible we see stories of great faith; from the times of Noah and the great flood right through to the times of Jesus and beyond. Not only do these stories show the faithfulness of man but also the faithfulness of God. It would be foolish of me to go through each one individually – we’d be here for thousands of pages and I would probably never finish the post. So, we pick up the story with Abraham, the father of many. An example of faithfulness, throughout his life constantly showing that no matter the context, no matter the noise, no matter the physical ‘worldly’ evidence to suggest otherwise, he trusted God. But most noticeably, it is God’s faithfulness that comes through the whole of this story.

Hebrews 11 is fast becoming one of my favourite passages of scripture. It gives a drop-the-mic style assault on doubt. It lists all the times that God’s chosen people have been faithful and how God has remained through it all.

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“And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so, from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.” (Hebrews 11:11-12)

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Let me set the scene for you. Abram had left everything he knew behind at Terah; his family, friends, and livelihood. He leaves with his wife and nephew to the land that God had promised Abram and his descendants. Once he gets there, he does all asked of him by God and erects numerous altars throughout the land as a symbol of his devotion. After a short stay in Egypt, Abram increases his wealth and returns to Canaan, where he defeats a legion of armies that has descended on Sodom. He is thanked by the King of Sodom and returns home. So far, so good. He has followed God’s instructions and God had remained faithful. It is at this point that the Lord promises Abram that he will have an heir but not only that, he will have offspring as numerous as the stars in a night sky. As a faithful servant of the Lord, Abram was overwhelmed by this but believed God. Time passed, and Sarai grew impatient. She thought that because she had been unable to conceive that God had prevented her from having children. It is this misunderstanding that leads to Hagar, her slave, becoming pregnant with Abram first born – Ishmael. Abram the faithful, stumbles, and quite dramatically falls. Almost fifteen years later, the Lord appeared to Abram.

It would have been easy for Abraham and Sarah to become discouraged and hopeless in this situation. They had waited years hoping to have a child and heir, only to grow old. Then the Lord appeared to Abraham telling him that Sarah would have a son. Can you imagine? Everyone laughed, not only would Abraham be one hundred when his child was born but Sarah was ninety! She laughed as she overheard the conversation, but the Lord replied to her, “Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son” (Genesis 18:14).

Faced with the decision to believe God for the impossible, both Abraham and Sarah took the steps of faith required to conceive. She chose not to consider the circumstances surrounding the situation, only the guarantor of the promise. In the same way, Abraham disregarded the fact that he was one hundred years old and that Sarah had been barren and had long since passed the age of childbearing. Instead he considered God faithful to His word and able to fulfil this promise.

You and I are blessed by the faith of Abraham and Sarah. Because he believed God, he became the father of many nations and the father of faith. All of those who trust in Jesus as their Saviour have been credited with the same righteousness that Abraham received by faith because they chose to believe God when the circumstances seemed impossible.

Reflect today: How is your faith in God? How is God asking you to trust in Him? Do you need to renew your faith in Him? What is God asking of you?

My faithful Father, enduring friend Your tender mercy is like a river with no wind It overwhelms me, covers my sin Each time I come into your presence I stand in wonder once again

Your grace still amazes me Your love is still a mystery Each day I fall on my knees 'cause your grace still amazes me Your grace still amazes me

Amen