“…she (Sara) judged Him faithful who had promised.” Hebrews 11:11
Dear Ones:
To trust in God according to His word, His commandments, and His promises, is NOT a risky business. It may be a matter of decision at a certain moment, or the patient endurance and steadfastness required to wait upon God. In any event, circumstance, storm or calm, God remains FAITHFUL. What does this mean? It means that His word is the very vehicle of the revelation of Himself to man. It is as man BELIEVES God, according to that word, that God reveals Himself to the heart in an ever-increasing way. God had given to Abraham and Sara a promise, that of an heir, a son. The problem was that it was physically impossible, as both of them were very old, Sara being beyond the years of child-bearing. Paul also would write of Abraham, “…being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither the deadness of Sara’s womb.” (Romans 4:19) The key for Abraham was a position of faith that he took, one that he refused to be driven from: “He staggered NOT at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.” (v.20) It must be noted that the promise of this heir was made approximately fourteen years before its realization. It seems that God would so work in both Abraham and Sara, so as to bring them to the realization of the promise would be of God’s doing, and His alone. The question would then be, “Could God find in Abraham and Sara, two believers, who would truly trust Him, and Him ALONE, to fulfill the promise?”
The teaching, or doctrine, of the faithfulness of God, is one which traverses the entirety of Scripture, from the days of the covenant made with man concerning the flood, to the epistles of Paul, to the book of revelation. Why is it so very important? It has to do with God’s way, His JUST way, for sinful man to have a RIGHT relationship with a Holy God. When God gave to Abraham the promise concerning an heir, and His blessing, specifically as it was related to Christ, Scripture tells us: “…And he (Abraham) believed in the Lord; and He (God) counted it to him for RIGHTeousness.” (Gen. 15:6) What does God do here in giving this promise to Abraham, and calling him to believe it? God’s is revealing that His work, His way, and His provision is perfect and holy. There is nothing unholy about it. Abraham, man of faith that he is, is still a sinner. God will not allow him, or any other man, to touch or reclaim His glory, because it would be a lie. The glory belongs to Him. How then can this life of righteousness, of faith, be realized? Only by a promise given, and faith given to believe it. It is OF God from beginning to the end. The glory is His and His alone. What then are we called to do? Two things.
The first thing is to understand and grasp that when God speaks, and gives a promise, He is totally committed to the fulfillment of that promise. It is to lay hold on the fact that He is omnipotent, Almighty, able and committed to doing what He has declared. He IS faithful, today and forever.
The second thing to grasp is the promise itself. It is by believing in the word of God that faith is directed in a RIGHT, and acceptable, manner. Jesus’ words, “Be it done to you according to your faith,” reveals a faith that is based upon the faithfulness of God, and directed by the revealed will of God. Abraham and Sara were able to believe God, even over a span of fourteen years, because of their believe in His faithfulness, and the word that He had given them. It is no different for us today. The question then is: “Who will truly believe Him?” “Who will seek Him, and find Him, as the faithful God, who cannot lie, but will reveal Himself to the heart?”
Dear Father, Paul wrote: “Faithful is He who calls you, who also WILL do it.” (1 Thess. 5:24) Give us grace, dear Father, this day to take You at your word, taking our stand upon the bedrock of Your faithfulness, committed to believe You for the full outworking of Your will, in and through us, for your glory. We thank and praise Thee, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad