Challenging faith!
Verse for Today: Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Genesis 22:5 – Abraham said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
Ardent faith leads to determination and boldness in all circumstances because the object of faith is realistic and unmoving. Strong faith is based on the object of faith and not on the follower of faith. Those who have experienced the object of faith will demonstrate a lifestyle that reveals how their faith has made them bold to face events and incidents in their lives. Abraham experienced such a faith in his life because he had seen God who was the focal point of his faith. He had the privilege to believe on God and put his entire life at stake on the glory of God and subsequently on the promises of God. He found his God faithful to the core in all His promises. When it was ultimately fulfilled in Abraham’s life through the promised son in the most unfavorable circumstance, it strengthened his faith further. He believed that if God could give him a son, there was nothing else impossible to his God. So Abraham believed His God to fulfill all His promises through that son no matter what God demanded of that son. Abraham believed with his whole heart, soul, life and strength that even if that son was to be sacrificed, the promise of making him a blessing to the whole world would still be fulfilled. This boldness of faith made Abraham tell the servants that he would certainly and surely come back with his son after the sacrifice. For he knew that if such a miracle of resurrection doesn’t take place, God’s promises would not hold true which to Abraham was an impossible. He knew his God so well as to believe that He would perform more miracles to sustain his son Isaac and make him fruitful. Abraham knew that Isaac was given to him totally and absolutely out of the benevolence and power of God. This promise was the beginning of a chain of events which will continue till eternity dawns for which Isaac had to continue to live as a miracle child. These truths dawned on Abraham and gave him the strength to sacrifice Isaac boldly and believe that he would come back with Isaac. Today the God of Abraham challenges us to commit all our situations to God and His promises and live boldly a day at a time.
Dear friend, are the demands placed on you by God making you wonder whether His promises will be fully realized? Such confusion will come only from the evil one and not from God’s Spirit. So if you are haunted by pessimistic impressions about the promises of God, it is time to take such doubts, confusions and apprehensions and crucify, kill and bury it at the foot of the cross. If the thought of doubt comes back, it is best to keep repeating the exercise of crucifixion of the negative thoughts. Abraham had such doubts in the past, but they got buried under the altar at Hebron when he kept worshiping, sharing and enjoyed intimate fellowship with God. His faith evolved as a long process which culminated in the birth of Isaac in the total impossible circumstance to lead Abraham to believe on all the promises of God. It is the result of long walk of faith with God where he tasted and knew God intimately. Today we are invited to such a fellowship walk of faith with the author and finisher of our faith to learn about His unchanging ability, willingness, power, strength and resourcefulness to keep His promises to us in our rough patches of life to take us forward as His witnesses in this unbelieving world.
Hebrews 11:19- Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
Thought for Today
God’s promises are beyond the laws of nature and we are challenged to believe it and experience it as miracles.
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