Dare to Be an Abraham!
By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. Hebrews 11:3 [1]
Christians find their spiritual roots in the faith of the Old Testament saints—especially Abraham, who is, above all, the man of faith. Four thousand years after he walked the earth, he remains our teacher about true faith. Faith never exists in a vacuum but has an object; Abraham trusted in “God Most High” who promised to bring blessing to the nations through his descendants. All those covenant promises funnel to the Lord Jesus Christ who declared that Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad. He is the father of us all—all who share the faith of Abraham, and receive Christ alone, by grace alone.
Abraham also teaches us what faith looks like in action—faith expressing itself through love. Read the dramatic account[2] of Abraham rescuing Lot, his errant nephew, from an invading army against all human odds. What do we learn? How about this? “By faith, take initiative to plan and to act—not stuck in spiritual gloom.” Do you know what “gloom” feels like, when life doesn’t go your way and your cherished dreams crumble? Most of us do. Abraham refused to get stuck there, but he believed God’s promise[3] and did something. He created a brilliant strategy of attack and moved out with his forces.
What will you do when you face gloomy events? Well, you can sing the old hymn, “Jesus, Savior, pilot me over life's tempestuous sea”—while your boat is securely chained to the dock. Or you can take initiative to plan and to act, according to your calling, whatever that is.
A basic axiom of life is by faith we understand. Abraham believed, and therefore he could think straight! And because he could think straight, he could act wisely and boldly. What might that look like today? If you find yourself shaky in your faith, doubting if God can change you or the difficult people around you, here’s your assignment. Imagine for a moment that you DO trust him, and you DO believe his Word. You’re watching a video of yourself, and there you are, trusting the Lord entirely and acting like it! How are you behaving differently? What are you doing? What are you saying? Do you have your list now? Good. Now…pick one of those things and start in on it today.”
How liberating! You don’t wait for your emotions to change, because we declare “Jesus is Lord,” not “feelings are Lord.” The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Charles Spurgeon[4] got it right: “‘I can only spread the sail; Thou! Thou! must breathe the auspicious gale.’ Only be sure you have the sail up. Do not miss the gale for want of preparation for it.”
[1] Other Scriptures cited: Gal. 3:6, John 8:56, Rom. 4:16, Gal. 5:6 (NIV) [2] Genesis 14. This military engagement, which was no tiny skirmish, might be the earliest recorded war in history—around 2,000 B.C. Many scholars believe that when Moses penned this, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he borrowed from an existing document that was already ancient in Moses’s day. [3] Certainly he remembered the Covenantal promise of Genesis 12:2-3. His reasoning: “If the Lord promised that all peoples on earth will be blessed through me, surely he will use me to rescue my close relative, Lot.” [4] Morning for January 30. Morning and Evening, Public domain.