We’ve been reading together in the book of Genesis and have reached a pretty significant point, where God singles out Abram and makes a covenant with him. God shows up and makes this amazing promise to take Abram’s family and make him into a great nation. It all sounds so great except Abram is starting to get old at this point in his life, and he knows both his, and his wife’s, biological clocks are ticking.
Abram, who later is renamed Abraham by God, is one of my absolute favorite stories in the Bible. This is partially because his story is repeated in so many ways throughout the Word, even in the New Testament. He is this patriarch who is renowned for his faith in God the Creator but, as we’ve been reading his story, you may have noticed he didn’t always get it right. For someone who lived “without weakening in his faith,” he sure seemed to have a lot of doubt like the video of Genesis 12-50 shows us. In one particularly interesting moment in Genesis 17:17 (easy enough to remember), we see Abraham has just been renamed, and the promises of God formalized into a covenant, but Abraham’s reaction is one that may shock you. If the God of the universe told you he was going to do something, I think you might fall down and worship, but to fall down and “laugh,” what was Abraham thinking!? How is Abraham remembered by Paul and immortalized in Hebrews 11 as this man of great faith when he laughed at God’s promise?
The answer is found in Romans 4:20-21. Abraham may have thought it ridiculous, but he was always convinced that the giver of the promise was faithful. It’s hard to have faith when your faith is being placed in the temporary or the unreliable, but Abraham’s promise came from God the Eternal, Faithful and True!
The reason I love the story of Abraham is because he is so human. He has struggles like all of us. He had his moments of doubt and came through them. For me, Abraham is a constant reminder that the promises of God are beyond my thoughts, my abilities and my comprehension, a reality for which I am very very thankful. What’s more than this… his promises are for us. One of the paramount scriptures to remember as you read through the old testament is 2 Corinthians 1:20, where we are told that because of what Christ did for us, we are heirs of the promises God has made… all of them!
What promises are you claiming today? What areas of breakthrough do you need in your life? Remember that God’s promises are for you, even when they seem as outlandish and impossible as having a child at the age of 100!
– Pastor Ryan
If you haven’t been able to check it out, you can find the PDF Reading Guide and our Plan Page below.
Reading GuidePlan Page