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September 22, 2020
by Pastor Chuck SwindollScriptures: Hebrews 11:9
IN THE BOOK of Hebrews, Abraham is praised for believing God's promises.
God called Abraham to move to a place where he didn't know a soul.
IN THE BOOK of Hebrews, Abraham is praised for believing God's promises.
God called Abraham to move to a place where he didn't know a soul. He had
no permanent place to live, no community to rely upon for support, and no
one to call in times of trouble. When he left Ur, he left the security of a
permanent place of residence. He was able to live apart from established
and secure human communities only because he "was confidently looking
forward to a city with eternal foundations" (Hebrews 11:10).
He was also sustained by God's promise of a son. Many years after Abraham,
Paul commented on Abraham's ability to endure difficult circumstances and
to remain obedient through years of waiting: "Abraham's faith did not
weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as
good as dead—and so was Sarah's womb" (Romans 4:19).
Whether living in a tent on foreign land or defying the odds of having a
child, Abraham believed the promise. He took the Lord at His word.
Do you believe God? If He says something in His Book, do you look for ways
to dodge the issue and rationalize your way around it, or do you see His commands as a personal opportunity to live by
faith? Guard against letting the difficulty of a choice keep you from
accepting the challenge of doing what He asks. Don't let the odds of any
situation keep you from trusting God. The odds will often be stacked
against you, or truth be told, you might find yourself blindsided by
overwhelming odds. People who live by faith don't focus on actuaries and
statistics. When God says, "Go!" people of faith don't waste time
calculating the odds. They obey God's instructions and refuse to live on
the edge of fear.
REFLECT
How do you respond when God says, "Go!"? What promises of God do you need
to cling to today?
Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise. . . . He was fully
convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises.
ROMANS 4:20–21