Hebrews 11:8, the man who would become the father of many nations, Abraham lived a comfortable life in a wealthy city called Er, he had security, he had family, he had a home, but God came to Abraham with a radical command. God told Abraham to leave everything behind and go to a land that God would show him later. God did not give Abraham a map, God did not give him a schedule, God just said go. This is the essence of faith, faith is obeying God, even when you do not know the details.
Hebrews 11:10, Abraham packed up his tents, he gathered his flocks, he took his wife Sarah and his nephew Lot, they began to walk into the desert. Abraham lived in tents like a stranger in a foreign country, he never built a permanent city for himself, because he knew this world was not his final home. The journey was not just about land, it was about a promise, God promised Abraham that he would have a son. God promised that Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky, but there was just one massive problem, Abraham was old and his wife Sarah was old.
Hebrews 11:11, Sarah was barren, she had never been able to have children and now she was far past the age of childbearing. From a human perspective, the promise was impossible, biology said no, medicine said no, logic said no, but faith said yes. Sarah herself had a moment of struggle, she laughed when she first heard she would have a baby, but ultimately, she came to a place of deep belief, she stopped looking at her own body and started looking at God’s character. Sarah considered God faithful, that is the key, she judged God to be reliable and exactly as God said, Isaac was born.
The impossible child arrived, a dead womb brought forth life, this teaches you that your limitations are just opportunities for God to show his power. Hebrews 11-17, Abraham’s story did not end with the birth of Isaac, the greatest test was yet to come. After years of watching Isaac grow, God asked Abraham to do something unthinkable, he asked him to sacrifice his son, the son of promise, the son he loved. Any other person would have argued with God, they would have said that this contradicts the promise. How can Isaac be the start of a great nation if he is dead?
But Abraham had walked with God for so long that he knew something about God’s power that no one else knew, he reasoned that God was so powerful that he could raise the dead. Abraham raised the knife, he was fully prepared to obey, he trusted God with the outcome completely and at the last second, God stopped him, God provide a ram in the thicket. Abraham proved that he loved the giver, more than the gift, proving that real faith holds onto things loosely, always ready to give them back to God.
Hebrews 11:10, Abraham packed up his tents, he gathered his flocks, he took his wife Sarah and his nephew Lot, they began to walk into the desert. Abraham lived in tents like a stranger in a foreign country, he never built a permanent city for himself, because he knew this world was not his final home. The journey was not just about land, it was about a promise, God promised Abraham that he would have a son. God promised that Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky, but there was just one massive problem, Abraham was old and his wife Sarah was old.
Hebrews 11:11, Sarah was barren, she had never been able to have children and now she was far past the age of childbearing. From a human perspective, the promise was impossible, biology said no, medicine said no, logic said no, but faith said yes. Sarah herself had a moment of struggle, she laughed when she first heard she would have a baby, but ultimately, she came to a place of deep belief, she stopped looking at her own body and started looking at God’s character. Sarah considered God faithful, that is the key, she judged God to be reliable and exactly as God said, Isaac was born.
The impossible child arrived, a dead womb brought forth life, this teaches you that your limitations are just opportunities for God to show his power. Hebrews 11-17, Abraham’s story did not end with the birth of Isaac, the greatest test was yet to come. After years of watching Isaac grow, God asked Abraham to do something unthinkable, he asked him to sacrifice his son, the son of promise, the son he loved. Any other person would have argued with God, they would have said that this contradicts the promise. How can Isaac be the start of a great nation if he is dead?
But Abraham had walked with God for so long that he knew something about God’s power that no one else knew, he reasoned that God was so powerful that he could raise the dead. Abraham raised the knife, he was fully prepared to obey, he trusted God with the outcome completely and at the last second, God stopped him, God provide a ram in the thicket. Abraham proved that he loved the giver, more than the gift, proving that real faith holds onto things loosely, always ready to give them back to God.
