Stand on the Promise!

A story in the bible that intrigues me is the story of Abraham and Sarah.  I'm pretty sure most people have heard or read their story.  In a nutshell, God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations and that his wife Sarah would give birth to a son despite the fact that Abraham and Sarah were advanced in years.  Eventually, Sarah did give birth to a son when she was about 90 years old and Abraham was about 100 years old.  I would suggest reading it if you haven't already, it's a good story with a couple of twists and turns.  You can find it in Genesis.

What was most intriguing to me about the story was not the fact they were able to have a baby despite their advanced ages.  I was mostly intrigued by the faith of Abraham.  Romans 4:19-20 states "without weakening in his faith, he (Abraham) faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-since he was about 100 years old and Sarah's womb was dead.  Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He had promised."

Abraham was an awesome man of faith.  He basically said that I know me and my wife are so old that we are close to the grave but I'm not gonna focus on that because God gave me a promise and there is nothing too hard for him.  So I'm gonna believe God and praise Him in advance for the promise that is on the way.  That is exactly what Abraham did and God saw him as righteous.  

It took MANY years for the promise to manifest, but Abraham did not waver in his faith.  He stood right there on his promise and he waited patiently for God to move.  He didn't consider his circumstances nor did he complain about how long it was taking.  He just stood on the promise and praised God.  Abraham was fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He promised to do. That means that he completely believed God.  There was not a doubt in his mind and he didn't struggle with unbelief.  I imagine it was like having tunnel vision.  He blocked out everything around him such as naysayers, doubt, worry and unbelief and he looked straight ahead focusing only on the promise of God.

Anybody out there want to be more like Abraham? I know I do.  I would like to get to a place where I stop wavering, stop doubting, stop being impatient, and stop allowing unbelief to steal the hope and joy of the promises that I know God has for me.  I want to get to a place where I can praise in spite of how long it's taking instead of complain.  God honors faith not complaints.

So, let's be more like Abraham.  Let's get rid of  the doubt, worry and unbelief and begin to praise God in advance for the promises that are coming our way.  Stand strong in faith on the promises that you know God has spoken to you.  I would even suggest writing them down and during those times when you're feeling like nothing is going right, pull out those promises, praise God for them and become strengthened in your faith. God is not slack concerning his promises. 

With Gallons of Love,

J.G.