Faith

Rom 4:20-22 "He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore 'It was accounted to him for righteousness.'"

Old man Abraham was an amazing guy. He was 100 years old and Sarah his wife was 90 (Gen 17) when God told him that he and Sarah were going to have a baby. This was such crazy news that Abraham laughed. He thought that God was funny…but God was very serious. Obviously this guy was pretty healthy since he fathered a child (Ishmael) when he was 86. He still thought it was pretty funny though, because he questioned God about his age and Sarah’s age. God’s response? Yes. You will have a son through Sarah and you will name him Isaac.

I think it is interesting that this verse in Romans says that Abraham did not waver at the promise of God. I guess laughing at what God said was not wavering…it was just questioning. Apparently questioning God is not wavering. God is not afraid of my questions. In fact, He probably welcomes them because He is willing to answer those questions in order to strengthen my faith.

After Abraham got God’s answer, what did he do? This 100 year old guy had sex with his 90 year old wife. His intent? To have a child. This was an act of faith. At that point he was totally and completely convinced that what God said He was going to do, He would do. He was not surprised when his 90 year old wife came back with a positive pregnancy test, in fact he expected it. (Gen 21) Not only that, but Abraham new that the child that was in her was a son, and he did not have the advantage of having an ultrasound. Instead, he had the advantage of knowing a faithful and true God who would keep His promise. Abraham was “fully convinced”, totally persuaded, absolutely convicted that this was going to happen before it happened. This is faith. This resulted in righteousness before God.

How am I doing in the faith category? Oh sure, I am fully convinced about Jesus work on the cross for my salvation, but what about my day to day faith? Do I live by faith? Do I walk by faith? Do I make decisions based upon the promises of God, or do I base my decisions on my own reasoning? Would I do something that made absolutely no sense in the human realm if I was fully convinced that God was directing that way? Have I ever done this? This is faith. Don’t waver.