Dave’s Monday Blast – April 4, 2022
I was reading an article by Pastor Charles Stanley recently. He has been a very INTENTIONAL man of God for decades. The article was simply entitled Walking by Faith. We know that the Christian life is a walk of faith.
I encourage you to (Selah) by reading Genesis 12:1 – 10 right now and then continue reading.
From the moment you become a believer, you enter the school of faith because, from that point on, the Father’s goal is to teach you to trust in Him. Therefore, in order to live effectively and grow in your relationship with Him, you must have confidence that God…the Sovereign Lord of the universe, will do exactly what He says and fulfill every single promise He’s made to you.
This is why Jesus said “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). The Father has awesome blessings for you, but you must know that He cares for you enough to provide them. Unfortunately, believers will sometimes miss God’s best in life simply because they do not trust Him. We get caught up in our circumstances and wonder why difficulties occur. However, when we realize that ups and downs are a natural part of maturing as Christians, we will continue to grow and progress in our faith.
From Pastor Stanley describing Abraham The Father of Our Faith: “Abraham is known by this title because of his inspiring and historic trust in God. Although he grew up in a pagan land and knew NOTHING about Yahweh, he obeyed when the Lord called him (Joshua 24:2 – 3). God said, ‘Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you’ (Genesis 12:1 – 2). It was an incredibly difficult command. Abraham was to leave his family and everything he had ever known to go to a place he had never seen.”
Although we know that Abraham’s faith was severely tried, we know that he remained devoted to God even when EVERYTHING appeared contrary to the Lord’s covenant with him. And the Father blessed him beyond measure, fulfilling every promise.
I know what you are thinking…Abraham failed miserably at times and had doubts like we do. He wasn’t perfect. This is the reason he is an excellent example of what it means to live a vibrant life of faith. We all experience faith failures, but if we pick ourselves up and renew our trust in the Lord, we will see God’s promises to us fulfilled as did Abraham. Thankfully, Abraham also demonstrates what is necessary for remaining confident in the Father’s provision.
Next week we are going to unpack from Pastor Stanley five requirements that we learn from Abraham specific to remaining confident in the provision of our Father…in spite of our circumstances. This is going to be good!
Let me end by encouraging you to read and meditate upon the following scriptures relevant to this account: Genesis 16:1 – 5; 22:1 – 5; Joshua 24:2 – 3; Isaiah 64:4; Matthew 7:7; 28:19; Mark 16:15; John 3:36 and Ephesians 2:8 & 9.
