Forefather of the Hebrew nation. Mighty warrior. Hero of the faith. Powerful prince. Wealthy landowner.
These are just a few of the ways we could describe a man the Bible calls Abraham. More than anything else, Abraham was a man of faith. He took God at His word, and he reaped the blessings of that faith. In our prison ministries in Saskatchewan, we seek to deepen our faith in God, too.
Here are 3 truths Abraham teaches us about faith.
Authentic faith motivates obedience.
When we first meet Abraham in the pages of Genesis, he is 75 years old. He is a wealthy landowner in Haran with a beautiful wife named Sarah. One day, God calls Abraham to leave his comfortable home, his friends, and everything he’s ever known.
God instructs Abraham, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:” (Genesis 12:1-2)
Because of Abraham’s faith, he obeys God. He packs up his family, his servants, and everything he owns. Then he sets off on a journey to an unknown destination, believing that God will guide him every step of the way.
Like Abraham, our faith should motivate us to obey God, even when we can’t see the final destination.
Authentic faith doesn’t depend on human wisdom.
Fast-forward to Genesis 15. At this point, he and Sarah are both advanced in age, and they have given up hope to have children. After God speaks to Abraham, he asks, “Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?” (Genesis 15:2)
God responds by promising to give him a child. This child would father a nation as many as the stars of the sky. How did Abraham react?
“And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)
Though human wisdom would call it impossible, Abraham chooses to believe God. And, several years later, a son is born to Abraham and Sarah. Named Isaac, he will become one of the forefathers of the Israelite nation.
Like Abraham, our faith should not depend on human wisdom or experience. It should depend on God.
Authentic faith should be in a Person, not a plan.
Now that Abraham and Sarah have their promised son, you would think they’d live happily ever after! Unfortunately, that is not the case. About fifteen years after Isaac’s birth, God speaks to Abraham.
“And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” (Genesis 22:2)
What?! Take the promised son and sacrifice him on an altar of wood? What about the great nation? What about the promises? What is God thinking? I can only imagine what must be going through Abraham’s mind as the implications sink in.
Yet Abraham’s faith is in God, not in what he wants God to do. He knows that God’s plans are much bigger and higher than human plans (Isaiah 55:9). And he is willing to lay everything on the line because he trusts God.
Too often, we place our faith in a plan, not a Person. We have our own plan for how things should go, and we want God’s stamp of approval on it. When something goes wrong, we panic. Yet this approach is both frustrating and unBiblical.
Like Abraham, our faith should be placed in God, not in something we want God to do.
Abraham didn’t have a smooth, easy, or predictable journey through life. But, through his trials and testings, he developed great faith. And God blessed him richly! If you have believed in Jesus as your Saviour, the Bible calls you a child of Abraham (Galatians 3:7). (Join us at our prison ministries in Saskatchewan to learn more.) Let’s follow Abraham’s example of faith and receive God’s blessings!
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