Digging Deeper – Faith of the Flawed

We’ve reached the end of Abraham’s story – and boy, did he live a full 175 years! When surveying the incredible ways God worked in and through him, it seems so strange looking back on the misstep he and Sarai made in taking God’s promise into their own hands. Don’t you think Abram was elated that his story didn’t end with the foolish decision they made in attempting to short-cut God’s plan?

We have the benefit of knowing how God came through time after time when we read the stories of His faithfulness. We know Abram will become Abraham and will have a son at the age of 100. But at the age of 75, when God made this covenant with him, Abram had no idea he’d have to wait 25 years for the birth of Isaac! He had to learn to trust, just like we do!

And while Abraham and Sarah had to deal with the ramifications of their sin (and those consequences are still felt today), it’s comforting to know that despite this egregious error in judgment, God still delivered, and He also still used Abraham. In fact, Abraham is regarded as the ultimate Hero of the Faith! Not only do we see this unfold throughout his story outlined in Genesis, but also throughout the New Testament, as the Apostle Paul and the writer of Hebrews emphasize his belief over his actions!

“Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this, he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous.” Romans 4:20-22 (NLT)

Abraham did some outlandish things that give us pause. He was deceitful at times, and he tried to bargain with God by using God’s goodness “against Him” to spare lives. But God, being God, saw past this. Instead of hammering Abraham about his mistakes, the Lord commends him for his faith – his willingness to go “all in” on the promises to come – most of which he would never see for himself!

Just like Abraham, you and I are flawed. Sin does that. We make some really poor decisions, even some catastrophic ones. But, also like Abraham, we have the opportunity to put our faith in the One who holds everything in His hands! In the end, we are not given eternal life based on what we did right or did wrong. It’s based on one thing: whether we have accepted Jesus as God’s Son and believe He died and rose again to give us new life!

We’ll never have perfect faith. That’s why we must place our faith in the Perfect One!