Growing up, I had so much faith in my father. I believed he was a superman and that he could actually slay a lion with his bare hands just like Samson. I never had any reason to doubt whatever he told me. I just took his word for it. If he ever told me he could fly, I’m sure I would have believed him. I’m almost certain that most people had the same kind of blind faith in their parents – that’s just the way kids are – ‘doubt’ is not part of their lexicon and they don’t rationalize things the way adults do.
I recently read two Bible passages that reminded me of the pedestal on which I placed my dad as a child.
So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me Acts 27:25
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. Romans 4:18 – 21
Paul was sure that he got a message from God and he was confident that it would happen just as he had been told. Based on his experience with God, there could not have been any other outcome. The weather and the waves were indicating something else but that didn’t matter to Paul. He was sure of the source of the message. If God said it, it was done.
When Abraham and Sarah were told that they were going to have a child, there was no reason for them to believe that it was possible apart from the fact that the message was from God. Naturally, all hope was lost. In those days, if there were professors of ‘Conception technology’, they would have told Abraham to wake up from dreamland. But because God said, it, Abraham believed it and it happened just as he was told.
For Paul and Abraham to have unwavering faith in God, they were sure that the words of assurance and promises were from God and they knew God’s character of not being capable of failure. Because of deep relationship, they could tell the difference between God’s word and their subtle imaginations or wishes. They were God’s sheep and there’s no way they would have followed the voice of strangers.
Consistent, unbroken fellowship with God is key in knowing what God is saying at every point. The ‘saying’ could come while reading through scriptures, listening to messages, worshipping God in music or in many other ways. In whatever form it comes, the constant factor is RELATIONSHIP.
Whatever the cost, we must keep the fire of this RELATIONSHIP on, for therein lies our SALVATION and the foundation of our FAITH.
Photocredit: www.childrens-ministry-deals.com, www.psychologytoday.com
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