Genesis 15:6
“Abraham believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness”
by Trent Pearson
Are we willing to fully trust God with everything we have? When Jesus calls us to walk on water, will we take the first step without fear?
We all know the story of Abraham, the Father of nations, the lineage of Christ, and one of the great leaders of faith. But we must understand that before Abram became Abraham and before he had sons as countless as the stars, Abraham had a decision to make. God called Abraham to leave his home, to a place unknown. It was unknown to man but not to God. This journey began with a promise from God, Genesis 12:2-3:
“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
We see now that Abram’s obedience would lead to the nation of Israel and ultimately the bloodline of the Messiah. God's great plan for humanities’ redemption came from the faithfulness and trust of one man. Abraham decided to trust God and His promise even in the unseen. He believed that God NEVER fails on His word, and we must believe the same.
Abraham's circumstances could have caused him to waver. He was facing impossibility. He was seventy five years of age and childless, yet God promised to give him descendants that outnumber the stars and sand. Our God is truly a God of the impossible. He is a God of miracles and works in our total obedience and trust. God has given each of us a promise. We need to walk in faith into the unknown, because man’s unknown is God’s known. When we take a step in faith, we are admitting that HE is God over all time and circumstance, not ourselves. When there is uncertainty from our perspective, we give God the room to work.
Proverbs 3:5 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to Him, and he will make your paths straight”
Numerous times God has given me a promise and it took my faith to start walking in that promise. Whether it is for our ministries, our families, our finances, our relationships, our visions, God requires action. The Bible says in Isaiah 55:8-9
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts”
How dare we be so arrogant as to walk in our own understanding? I fall victim to this all the time. God calls for our IMMEDIATE obedience. No second guessing, no waiting. When our spirits become quickened and we hear whispers that are clearly God's voice, we must follow them. This is our guidance down the path God has promised us. Immediate and blind obedience is required.
Nobody promised this road would be easy but God promised in Isaiah 41:10:
“…do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
God calls us to release our comfort and may even call us to release our prized possessions. How easy would it be for us to give up our homes, our cars, our pets, and our money for Christ? Abraham faced this question when God asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac, the child of his promise. This was a test of willingness to surrender everything to God. All creation is God’s. Who are we to question or hold on to what is already His? Abraham trusted in God’s provision AND God provided a substitute because of his unwavering devotion. This reminds me of when a rich man asked Jesus an important question in Mark 10:17-31:
“…”good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”…”looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” And at this the mans face fell, and he went away very sad, for he had many possessions”… “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God”
God calls for us to totally trust in His will. Our will and God's will are at total odds many times. They are not the same. We have a limited view, yet God sees all. When we let go of what we want, we give room for what God wants. When we do this, we allow Him to work at full capacity. I choose to trust God with my life because I know that in the end His plan is far greater than my own. God knows I often (usually) get things wrong, but God never has and never will.
Hebrews 11:8-12 sums it up perfectly:
“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she[considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore”
Impossibility is merely a flaw of man’s thinking. With God all things are impossible and He is ready for us to take the first step. God, the master and creator of the universe, time, and all life is surely trustworthy.