"Abraham Believed God and Continued Hoping"
"There was no hope that Abraham would have children.
But Abraham believed God and continued hoping,
and so he became the father of many nations.
As God told him, "Your descendants also will be too many to count.""
( Romans 4: 18)
Right from my Sunday School days, I have been picturing the faith-giant-father Abraham with uncountable stars and sands in the background. Moreover, I have always been cherishing his faith with an imaginative cart filled with belongings moving behind this great man of faith while he walked straight on a never-ending and clueless highway. I was inspired as a child to observe the picture on the cover of a Tamil devotional commentary titled "Paraloga Pirayaani Aabirahaam" ("Abraham The Heavenly Pilgrim") written by A. Premkumar, still placed on our bookshelf at home. The picture has remained my most influential idea of Abraham coupled with the meaningful title that always gave me a different dimension of Abraham's faith.
Indeed, Abraham, as a spiritual giant of great faith has been a pillar for many of our faith walks. Over the years, for many of us, Abraham's life has been teaching inspirational lessons on faith, time and again, while we have been going through all different stages in life. Each time when we go through the incidents and 'faith moments' of his life, there is something new to learn. And this time, I found this from a great lesson of faith in Apostle Paul's Letter to the Romans, chapter 4, verse 18. Paul highlights two important parts of Abraham's unshakeable faith in God - "Abraham believed God, and he coninued hoping."
Abraham Believed God
Reading through the life of Abraham, especially in the Book of Genesis, one would very clearly see the number of temptations and challenges that came in the way of Abraham's life. So many obstacles to moving forward in faith. Hundreds of challenges to move him aside from the belief! There were extreme human and natural conditions that could have kept Abraham from the very promise of God on which that Abraham had all his hopes built. In Paul's letter to the Romans, we find Paul testifying this belief by saying "Abraham was almost a hundred years old, much past the age for having children, and Sarah could not have children. Abraham thought about all this, but his faith in God did not become weak. He never doubted that God would keep his promise, and he never stopped believing. He grew stronger in his faith and gave praise to God" (Romans 4: 19,20). And, yes! Abraham, through all these circumstances and conditions of negativities, never doubted God. He was ardent and unvarying in his belief.
Abraham Continued Hoping
Just like a lamp that continues to burn in the midst of a heavy storm, Abraham had this little burning hope which was fueled by the faith that he had in God. Through trials and tribulations, there was hope lingering somewhere in the empty canvas of Abraham life, yet to be painted by God with stars of generations and marks of nations. This little hope that was in Abraham's life took him further into the realm of a greater spiritual life of miracles and wonders. Paul notes this by saying, "Abraham felt sure that God was able to do what he had promised. So, “God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God” (Romans 4: 21,22). The hope that Abraham continued to have in his life not only made him move forward and expect great things from God, but it also projected the amount of belief that he had in God. Abraham never lost hope. In faith, he was able to see nations being born through him. And this was pleasing to God.
Today, as we continue in our walk of faith, let these two lessons be kept in front of us. Like Abraham, let us learn to believe God in the midst of all odds and negatives that may surround our lives, and let us also learn to continue hoping, while we realise day by day how wonderful and miraculous are God's plans and ways for us. May the blessings and power of God our Father, the grace and love of Christ Jesus the Son, and the fellowship and guidance of the Holy Spirit be with us and guide us as we continue to believe God and stand firm in our faith with a never-fading hope.
May God bless you.
Yours in Christ,
"Give Me Faith"
Acoustic | Elevation Worship
