Believe God in a hard place? Abraham found himself there. Could he trust the Lord when human reasoning said it was futile?<\/p>\n
The Lord had sent Abram on a journey and made large promises. Directing his gaze to the stars of the heavens and the sands of the sea, the Lord said, \u201cI will make of thee a great nation.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Abraham was childless.<\/p>\n
Could Abraham really believe God?<\/strong><\/p>\n Genesis 15:6 (NIV) says he \u201cbelieved the Lord, and\u00a0 he credited it to him as righteousness.\u201d<\/p>\n The Amplified Bible says, \u201cAnd he [Abram] believed in (trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness (right standing with God).\u201d Romans 4:3 and Galatians 3:6 repeat the statement.<\/p>\n Listen to James 2:23 in The Amplified Bible. \u201c\u2026Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God\u2019s friend.\u201d<\/p>\n I love the way Paul described Abraham. \u201cAgainst all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, \u2018So shall your offspring be.\u2019 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead\u2014since he was about a hundred years old\u2014and that Sarah\u2019s womb was also dead.<\/p>\n “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 power to do what he had promised. This is why \u2018it was credited to him as righteousness.\u2019 The words \u2018it was credited to him as righteousness\u2019 were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness\u2014for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead\u201d (Romans 4:18-24 NIV).<\/p>\n Fully persuaded. Absolutely certain. Not wavering between faith and doubt. God would do what he said.<\/p>\n Abraham followed and trusted.<\/strong><\/p>\n And he grew old waiting for the child of promise.<\/p>\n In his own time, God fulfilled the promise, sending the beloved son Isaac and descendants as numerous as the stars of the heavens and sands of the sea.<\/p>\n I know a lot about faith.<\/p>\n “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).<\/p>\n “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).<\/p>\n “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).<\/p>\n Knowing<\/em><\/strong> about faith is one thing; practicing<\/em> faith is another.<\/strong><\/p>\nKnowing about faith is one thing; practicing faith is another. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n Considering these faith facts, I noticed the Enemy had staked little “impossible” signs around my life. I tripped over one every time I got self pumped up to believe God. I talked this over with self.<\/p>\n Where does faith come from? Faith comes by hearing the Word of God.<\/em><\/p>\n Why does the Word of God generate faith? It’s what God said.<\/em><\/p>\n Why should I believe it? Because he is God!<\/em><\/p>\n I’d looked to biblical history for assurance God would meet my needs. If he did it for faith giants\u2014and those of lesser faith\u2014surely he’d do the same for me.<\/p>\n Nothing is written about Abraham’s being fully persuaded because God had an outstanding record in history. He was fully persuaded that what God had promised him<\/em>, he was able to perform.<\/p>\n His record certainly encourages my faith, but God isn’t obligated to work in my life on the basis of what he did for Abraham or anybody else. He’s obligated only by his promises. I see the flaw in my faith. His record is impressive, but his Word to me<\/em> fully persuades me that what he has promised, he is able to perform.<\/p>\nHuman reason for hope being gone, Abraham chose to believe, to hope in faith. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n Human reason for hope being gone, Abraham chose to believe, to hope in faith.<\/strong><\/p>\n That’s how Romans 4:18 reads in The Amplified Bible.<\/p>\n When circumstances give no reason to hope, when I consider running up the white flag of surrender, when human reasoning says this path makes no sense\u2014I choose to believe God! He\u2019s known for crediting faith as righteousness. And perhaps he will consider me his friend.<\/p>\n Have you ever been in a place where, human reason for hope being gone, you hoped in faith? Please leave a comment. And share with friends who need encouragement today.<\/p>\n (Adapted from Cabbages and Kings\u2014Reflections on Living Abundantly in Christ<\/em>)<\/p>\n \u00a9Dianne Barker 2018<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Believe God in a hard place? Abraham found himself there. Could he trust the Lord when human reasoning said it was futile? The Lord had sent Abram on a journey and made large promises. Directing his gaze to the stars of the heavens and the sands of the sea, the Lord said, \u201cI will make […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[90,89,9,93,91,92],"class_list":["post-627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-abraham","tag-believe-god-when-theres-no-reason-to-hope","tag-dianne-barker","tag-fully-persuaded","tag-gods-friend","tag-unwavering-faith"],"yoast_head":"\n