May 8: Believe God

Wiley Richards is a retired professor of theology and philosophy at The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville.

In describing the human side of the salvation encounter, we often use four different words. We use belief in the sense of a past event, such as believing that Jesus lived, died, and rose again. In the future sense, we turn to trust. We trust Christ to stand by us at the eternal bar of God. In the present tense, we use two words. We employ “receive,” as when we receive Christ into our lives, and “commit,” as when we place our hopes in Him. The Greek language of the New Testament generally relies on one word for faith (pistis). To believe God, therefore, is to accept as true and dependable what He says. When He says to believe and confess (Rom. 10:9-10) to be saved, we count it to be true. Abraham set the example for us. He believed God.

• His faith grew through PERSONAL EVENTS (17:15-17). Abraham had reached the age of 99 when God spoke to him a second time (v. 1). Nearly 25 years had elapsed since the call to him to the land of his fathers (12:4). As the years rolled by, both Abraham and Sara grew impatient at God’s apparent failure to deliver on His promises. Sensing their declining virility, Sara convinced him to father a child by her Egyptian handmaid, Hagar (16:1). From that union came Ishmael, the father of 12 sons from whom the Arabs sprang (17:20). Sons of Abraham, in one way or another, have controlled the Holy Land through the centuries.

In spite of the lapse of faith on their part, God treated Abraham as though he had never doubted. In His own time, He confronted Abraham with the original covenant (17:2). He went further and included Sarai, “My Princess,” as a part of the covenant, re-naming her “Sara,” meaning “Princess.” She ceased to be a particular woman in her role as the mother of nations. At the announcement by the Lord, Abraham fell on his face, apparently laughing for joy. He marveled that Sara, now 90 years old, would bear a son to be named Isaac (17:19), aptly named “Laughter.”

• To believe God we must sometimes undergo a PERSONAL REJUVENATION (vv. 12-15). God had included Sara in the covenant fulfillment, but she still harbored some unresolved issues. She had wavered at the earlier promise of an heir, as discussed above, and she still was not convinced the promise would come through her. She remained in the tent (v. 9) while God (18:1) and two other “men,” probably angels, spoke with Abraham. He promised Abraham He would return to Sara “according to the time of life,” that is, an agreed-on date at which time she would conceive a son.

Sara laughed silently and reminded herself that she was too old to bear a child. To her consternation, the “Man” read her thoughts and questioned her about her words. Sara weakly denied, saying, “I laughed not,” because she was afraid (v. 15). Mercifully, the Lord let the matter drop after a final probe into her mind. He challenged her to a higher level of faith with the question (v. 14): “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

• We, too, believe God, by claiming PERSONAL PROMISES (21:1-5). We chronicled Sara’s struggle with faith, noting the Lord’s rebuke of her attempted lying to Him. He knows how to lead one to a fuller understanding of the meaning of faith. The final outcome is recorded in Hebrews 11:11 (KJV): “Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.” The key phrase is “She judged him faithful.” Once we know God’s will, we claim the outcome by faith. He mercifully forgives our sins, not holding our lapses against us as He works out His goals for our lives.