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Save the World Community Pentecostal Church

Abraham: A Man of Faith

by Ron Ferris

Trust. Faith. Simple words with complex implications. Trust is about learning to know people, being in relationship with them and understanding that they will keep their promises. Faith is about relying on those promises regardless of what the situation looks like, believing all the time that what was said will come to pass.

All of us must, at some time in our lives, decide whether or not to trust God. Until the moment of testing, however, our faith remains something of a personal convenience. We believe because we feel secure. But when God challenges us to do something that makes us uncomfortable, when it's a choice between God's way or our way, then our true faith is tested.

The Bible contains a story of a man named Abraham. He faced many such tests. When he was 75 years of age, God asked him to leave his home and his friends and neighbours. In Genesis 12:1, God instructed him to travel without a map to the land that God would show him. With that command came the promise of many descendants and the opportunity, through those descendants, to be a blessing to the entire world. Without the slightest hesitation, Abraham obeyed.

Abraham and his family eventually found the land that was promised to them but it must have been hard to believe that the promise of a legacy of descendants would ever be fulfilled. It wasn't until Abraham was 100 years of age and his wife, Sarah, was 90, well beyond her child-bearing years, that their son Isaac was born.

But God wasn't through with his tests of trust yet. When their precious son, Isaac, was a young boy, God directed Abraham to do the unthinkable—to sacrifice him. What kind of a command is this? Could this instruction come from a kind, loving God? Surely this couldn't be right! Yet Abraham obeyed.

In the end, Abraham did not have to sacrifice Isaac. Instead, God provided a ram for the sacrifice. Why had God allowed His servant to build an altar, tie up his son and place him on the altar? He did it to test Abraham's faith. God did not want Abraham to sacrifice his son. Rather, He wanted to see whether Abraham would depend on Him even when doing so defied all human logic. God wanted to know whether Abraham would trust Him with the one person he treasured most—his son. Abraham passed the test.

What an incredible faith Abraham had! How do we even think of having that kind of faith ourselves? Like Abraham, we need to listen for God's voice as He directs our way. Abraham was clear concerning what God wanted him to do. As we read the Bible and pray, our direction becomes clearer.

In the Bible, God gives us guidance about the way we should live. His commandments form the basis of our moral code here on earth and provide us with a sense of right and wrong as we conduct our affairs. Finding God's will in many areas of our lives isn't quite so easy. We wonder about where we are going, what we will spend our lives working at, how we will handle the dramas and traumas that seem to make up our existence. The Christian finds answers by seeking God's will in prayer, listening to His voice and receiving confirmation from other Christians.

How we act, more than what we say, reveals what we believe about God. Abraham demonstrated his faith in God through his actions. Faith is believing that the promise unseen will become visible because God has declared it. Are you ready to begin exercising your faith?

Questions for Further Reflection:

• The story of Abraham is recorded in the book of Genesis. Read it again. What does it say to you about faith?

• Think back to a time when you had to believe a promise made. How difficult was it to believe it would be fulfilled?

• Was there a time when all you had was God's assurance of His presence? What did you learn about your faith?

• Are you believing in faith for something now? Seek God's direction through prayer.

Source: http://www.christianity.ca/faith/bible-studies/2003/06.001.html