The Nature of Faith, part 7

He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief,
but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God...
Romans 4:20, NKJV

Abraham never doubted that God would fulfill His promises. This is evidenced in Genesis and emphasized in the New Testament. Abraham believed God--the Bible says so over and over again. When God showed up and said, "I'll give you a son, and a country, and descendants as uncountable as the stars, and blessings beyond measure, and I'll make you a blessing to everybody everywhere," Abraham took God at His word. He never doubted God's promises, even if he did question God's procedures.

Maybe his descendants would be through his nephew Lot, whom he brought along to Canaan as a foster son after Lot's father died. But God said, "This is not my plan."

Maybe his descendants would be made through the adoption of people born in his household, servants would become sons and thereby fulfill God's promises. But God said, "This is not my plan."

Maybe his descendants would be made through the womb of a surrogate mother, one Hagar of Egypt, and Abraham fathered a son through a concubine. But God said, "This is not my plan." Even the six sons he fathered later through Keturah were excluded from God's plan, for God said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called."

People can say what they want to about Abraham, but he never doubted in unbelief. He was the father of faith, the friend of God, the man who believed God and was counted righteous because of it. He did not waver concerning the promises of God. If anything, he erred in good faith, thinking he knew how to help God out and make the promises come true.

And he strengthened himself in faith, giving glory to God.

If God has made us promises, we need to learn a lesson from Abraham and do the same. We need to strengthen ourselves in faith. We need to remind ourselves of all that God has promised, and all that God has done thus far. We need to remind ourselves that God is faithful, that He will not lie, that He does not change, that His word is absolute and it is true. We need to remind ourselves that what God has promised, that will He also do. What God has started, He will be faithful to complete in me and you. We strengthen ourselves in faith by reminding ourselves and giving testimony about it, speaking in faith even when it hasn't happened yet. We continue to pray, we continue to obey, and we continue to believe.

And through it all, we give glory to God! We praise the Lord in good times and in bad, when times are easy, and when times are sad. We praise the Lord for what He's done, and we praise Him for who He is, because He is worthy of our praise whether He has done something or not. We need to keep on trusting, and we need to keep on singing. Sooner or later, God will do as He said He would, and I better be found strong in faith and giving glory to God!