"Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb:
He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform."
Romans 4:18-21
This is about Abraham, and the faith that he had in God, trusting that what he promised would come to pass. I really like the part about being fully persuaded. I think that is sometimes where we fall short. We look at the scriptures and know that God brought miracles to pass for the prophets, but we have a harder time believing God's promises to us individually, considering ourselves unworthy, or out of favor, or whatever depressing thing comes to mind.
Part of faith has to be not only knowing that God can do things, but that he will, and that he really loves us like he says he does. Not believing that we are worthy of love or that God doesn't really mean what he says is just calling God a liar in a different way. Just like we can't assume we are exceptions when it comes to the commandments, we also should not assume that we are exceptions when it comes to God's love, forgiveness, or acceptance. No matter what scary negative evidence we can dig up from the dregs of our paranoid minds, God *does* love us, will always love us, and is always extending a hand of forgiveness and welcome to us, asking us to come back to him, to move from lost to found.
Today, let's believe God's promises, and no matter how much we have been against hope, let's believe in hope. Let's stop listening to internal and external negative voices, and have faith that God can, and will, keep his promises. Let's stop justifying our inaction by pretending that we are of no value or not worth saving. Instead, let's remember Abraham, and believe that--even if all the evidence points the other way--God can still save us, as he says he can. Let's jump in and do the work to be ready to be saved. Let's swim upward instead of downward, and be there when God reaches to pull us into the lifeboat.
And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb:
He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform."
Romans 4:18-21
This is about Abraham, and the faith that he had in God, trusting that what he promised would come to pass. I really like the part about being fully persuaded. I think that is sometimes where we fall short. We look at the scriptures and know that God brought miracles to pass for the prophets, but we have a harder time believing God's promises to us individually, considering ourselves unworthy, or out of favor, or whatever depressing thing comes to mind.
Part of faith has to be not only knowing that God can do things, but that he will, and that he really loves us like he says he does. Not believing that we are worthy of love or that God doesn't really mean what he says is just calling God a liar in a different way. Just like we can't assume we are exceptions when it comes to the commandments, we also should not assume that we are exceptions when it comes to God's love, forgiveness, or acceptance. No matter what scary negative evidence we can dig up from the dregs of our paranoid minds, God *does* love us, will always love us, and is always extending a hand of forgiveness and welcome to us, asking us to come back to him, to move from lost to found.
Today, let's believe God's promises, and no matter how much we have been against hope, let's believe in hope. Let's stop listening to internal and external negative voices, and have faith that God can, and will, keep his promises. Let's stop justifying our inaction by pretending that we are of no value or not worth saving. Instead, let's remember Abraham, and believe that--even if all the evidence points the other way--God can still save us, as he says he can. Let's jump in and do the work to be ready to be saved. Let's swim upward instead of downward, and be there when God reaches to pull us into the lifeboat.
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