By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
Hebrews 11:8
Abraham believed God and He marked him as righteous. Imagine following the voice of God into an unknown place. You wouldn’t know exactly what would be waiting for you there like the people you would meet and the kind of challenges that you are not used to. Because Abraham believed in God, God walked with him closely and blessed him and his descendants.
Abraham is the father of faith in the Bible. The faith Abraham displays is the benchmark for all Christians to follow. Every step Abraham took was in belief and obedience to God’s word. Even after he didn’t get everything, he desired in life he still believed in God to the very end. As a Christian, you shouldn’t only be committed to God when things are working in your favor.
You should be with him and obey him always because he is the reason for your existence. Without the free gifts he gives to your body and the protection he gives to you and your family you would not be alive. Abraham and his beloved wife Sarah could not have a child. This was a very difficult situation for Abraham to endure.
He and his wife even passed their fertile years, therefore, giving up on their hopes of having a child together. Despite all these issues, he still followed God’s instructions. It didn’t matter what his carnal mind told him he was still willing to follow God’s instructions. Walking with God was not a mere formality for Abraham.
We often feel like God’s presence in our lives is deserved and that He must be there for us even if we don’t do anything in return. We expect him to take control of our situations just because he created us.
You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
James 2:20-24
It’s alright to have faith but how does anyone know you have faith if you do not demonstrate it? Christians show their faith in God by demonstrating that faith through their works and actions. Abraham’s faith was shown by his willingness to obey God no matter what the instructions were or how difficult it was. You must not only do things because they suit you but rather because you want to please God.
Abraham was willing to show God his faith even if it meant sacrificing his beloved son Isaac. God knew then that Abraham believed in Him indeed. Sometimes we tend to believe in God until it becomes very difficult to maintain his principles.
There are times when others make a mockery of us because we do not defile ourselves like they do. All this and many other pressures cause us to abandon our righteous ways. Abraham shows us that no matter what the situation may be, we must not abandon God’s principles and his instructions. A father is normally drawn to a child who respects, trusts, and obeys his instructions.
They rest assured that the child will do exactly what is expected of them. They know that their children will never disgrace their name. Their children can feel the father’s love no matter where they find themselves. They follow their father’s instructions and they are obedient to their father’s wishes.
They believe in their father’s authority and do not fear anyone who tries to intimidate them because they know he will protect them. When you have your father’s trust and love, you know deep within you that he favors you.
When you know these things, you don’t jeopardize your father’s trust by disobeying him. God is our father and he expects us to do the same thing as his children.
Lessons From The Life Of Abraham
Obedience to God
Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.
Genesis 22:2-3
It’s not like Abraham didn’t know what he was going to do on the top of the mountain. God gave him all the instructions of the sacrifice including who he was going to sacrifice. It was he and Sarah’s beloved son. You can imagine how they felt that night in their house knowing very well what was going to happen in the morning.
They must have been in tears, barely sleeping and fretting over the instruction that came from God. Despite it all, he took what he needed the next morning and headed off to do God’s will. This was not easy for him.
Every step he took towards Moriah would have been with a heavy heart. He didn’t allow himself to be dictated to by emotion. God knew it was a difficult decision for Abraham just as he knows that you are faced with difficult decisions in your life sometimes.
You must however follow Abraham’s example if you love God as you claim to. Abraham knew what God had done for him. And that made his obedience to God even more immovable. God delivered on his promises to Abraham so Abraham knew he had to be obedient to God.
You must obey God like Abraham did to prove to him that you love him as you say you do. This will please him and he will bless you as he did Abraham.
Related Posts
Faith in God
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
James 2:26
Works and action is the spirit of your faith. Faith by itself isn’t seen or appreciated. The only way you can demonstrate your faith in something or someone is by working according to its knowledge, existence, or instruction.
Abraham knew the voice and the blessings of God. He also believed in the power of God to do anything he wanted to do. There was no human emotion that was going to separate him from his faith. Despite their human limitations, he and his wife believed in God in completion. Their faith gave them a son in their old ages and they gave the glory to God.
You must learn from Abraham’s faith. He didn’t only believe what suited him to believe. He believed everything the Lord told him and acted upon it. he followed the instructions of God to the letter even if it didn’t sound palatable or doable by human abilities. His faith was demonstrated in his actions toward God’s promise.
When you have faith in God, do things that show that you expect your answer from God no matter how difficult or impossible it may be. If God tells you he will make a way in the ocean for you to walk through, walk towards the ocean no matter how scary or treacherous the winds may be or no matter what bystanders will say. That is how you show faith in him.
Contentment
So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”
Genesis 13:8-9
Abraham’s contentment was demonstrated here. He knew that Lot would choose the best parts of the land but he still left the choice to him. Because Abraham knew God was always with him, he didn’t mind that Lot chose the best parts of the land.
He was content with whatever He was going to get because he knew God could turn any misfortune into fortunes. Having God as a Christian is enough for you. Sometimes you may feel like you are not getting the best of things.
You may feel like the promotions and the goodies are going to other people who may not deserve it as well as you do. Do not fret when this happens. Hold on to your faith in God and know that He has a better ending in store for you. Lot thought he was making the right choices but it ended him in a land of sin.
Do not always envy what others have because when you have God, you are blessed beyond limitation. He can turn any situation into a blessing for you so be content with Him.
Closeness to God
If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:29
Because of God’s covenant with Abraham, his descendants were blessed even before they existed. Because he was willing to sacrifice his beloved son to him, God felt the love of his creation. God was let down by Adam and Eve when they disobeyed him.
Through Abraham, God realized that there was one man who was willing to obey and believe in him even to the point of sacrificing his most beloved possession. God repaid Abraham by making his descendants a people after his own heart.
This promise is still honored through Christ Jesus. The moment you accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, you were counted amongst Abraham’s seeds and automatically made an heir to God’s throne. So even though through one man God was disappointed, through another his faith in humanity was rekindled.
You must strive to be this close to God. You must hear his voice when he speaks to you and you must show him he can count on you just as Abraham did.
Humility
Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes
Genesis 18:27.
Abraham is trying to plead for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah here. With every question he asked God in that conversation, he portrayed total humility. He makes it sound as though he is not even worthy to be speaking to the Lord let alone inquiring about the Lord’s mercy.
He recognizes that despite his history and closeness to God, he is still a product of dust and ashes given life by God’s breath. There are people living today who feel they simply deserve to be living. They live their lives in arrogance and selfishness.
This quote tells us that even Abraham who was in direct contact with God and often spoke to him was still very humble towards him. He never forgot his place and his source. He knew he was insignificant and was not even worthy to speak to the Lord.
It would be best if you learned this humility. No matter where the Lord lifts you, remember you are only dust and ashes sustained by his breath of life. Never feel entitled or more important than anybody. No matter who you are, you are still only a tiny part of God’s creation and must stay humble throughout your walk with him.
