As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been praying for God to teach me faith. I realize now that that is a dangerous thing to ask, but I know it is worth it. Maybe, like Job, that means I will have to persevere through every kind of imaginable hardship known to man. Am I ready for that kind of hardship? Am I ready for that kind of faith? Maybe not, but I do want it.
Tonight, I was told by a friend to read Romans 5:1-5. It starts off “Therefore”, though, so I backed up to Romans 4. This is what I read:
“In hope [Abraham] believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be” (Gen. 15:5). He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was ‘counted to him as righteousness’. But the words ‘it was counted to him’ were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” (Romans 4:18-25)
Wow. There are so many things in this passage that stick out to me! Abraham believed in hope- AGAINST hope. Even though there was no hope to speak of, he believed in hope. When everything’s stacked against me, do I have that kind of unwavering hope?
And then there’s his own shortcomings. He knew he wasn’t a spring chicken…knew it was near impossible that he and his barren wife could conceive. But he also knew that God could do anything.
I didn’t just know…he was fully convinced.
How often do I hold myself back from being “fully convinced”? When I pray, am I totally positive that God is going to answer and do something amazing? No. I don’t think so. WHY?! Man…that just bugs me!
Who am I to limit the Creator of…everything? Where is my faith? In the past, I think I have experienced a similar hope…in spite of difficulties and trials, I have hope that things will turn out right. But do I have faith that something amazing will happen? That God will do it?
Maybe all this time I’ve confused the two. I really want to start to understand the faith of Abraham more…in my life. Even though I know that’s a difficult path to walk down, I want to walk it.
Which brings me back to Romans 5:1-5.
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into his grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:1-5)
Even though this journey we’re on as believers in Christ is not easy, and we are sure to suffer, it’s so encouraging to read God’s plan for our sufferings: that they would produce endurance, character, and hope. That we have the Holy Spirit…God’s love…to get us through anything.
In light of this passage, I know that this testing of my faith is worth it.
Lord, please teach me to have the kind of faith that Abraham had. Unwavering. Unflinching. Unapologetic. Hopeful. Strong. Fully convinced. No matter what it takes, God. This is my prayer. Amen.
Check out “Give Me Faith” by Elevation Worship. The chorus is a prayer for God to, you guessed it, give us faith, and the bridge is an awesome statement based out of Psalm 73:26!
Thanks Nick! I will have to check that out!