“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” Heb.11:8.
As Christians we say we live by faith. But what does it really mean to live by faith in a world where mighty skyscrapers crumble into dust and thousands of people suddenly die? Where is God in the midst of this unthinkable tragedy? And what does faith in God look like at the end of the day? There are many places in the Bible where we might find answers to these questions. I want to focus our thinking on a passage that I have often turned to in times of sorrow and personal crisis. How do you live by faith when the world itself seems to shake beneath your feet? In order to understand the answer to that question, I would like to focus our attention on Hebrews 11.
Not the whole chapter, but on one man, Abraham. And not his whole story, but the record of his journey to the Promised Land. The long version of Abraham’s life is given in Genesis; this is the short summary. Let’s begin with some brief facts about Abraham. When we meet him in the Bible, he is living 4,000 years ago in a far-off place called Ur of the Chaldees on the banks of the Euphrates River not far from the mouth of the Persian Gulf. No doubt he and his wife Sarah worshipped the moon-god Sin. He is a prosperous, middle-aged man, successful by any human standard. Life has been good to Abram and Sarah, certainly they had no reason to complain. It is at precisely this moment that God spoke to him clearly, definitely and unmistakably. What God said will change his life—and ultimately alter the course of world history.
He was called to step into a life of faith with God. Living by Faith means accepting God’s call without knowing where it will lead you. There is only one way to describe Ur of the Chaldees. It was a world-class city. Yet Abraham quit in response to God. No doubt many of Abraham’s friends thought he was crazy. Why would anyone want to leave Ur? Obeying God’s call meant giving up his friends, his career, his traditions, his home, his position, his influence, and his country. More than that, it meant risking his health and his future on a vague promise from an unseen God to lead him to a “land that I will show you” “That’s kind of strange, isn’t it?” “Is it?”. The rest they say is history. May God grant you the tenacity of Abraham, his commitment and yieldedness in obedience even when it didn’t make sense. Selah!
FURTHER READING:
“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:” Gen. 12:1.
“So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.” Gen. 12:4.
DECLARATION:
Dear Abba Father, I thank you for the break of another day. I trust You for a mighty release of Your power and influence upon me. Father place the anointing of a warrior upon me. Every domain and system that You have assigned me, I confiscate from the enemy this day. I gain control supernaturally of my portion in God. Every satanic or demonic squatter that is on my portion, property, or territory, I command you to lose your hold in the name of Jesus! I am more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus, amen.
1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN:
Psalms. 50:1-23.
Psalms. 51:1-19.
Psalms. 52:1-9.
Psalms. 53:1-13.
QUOTE FOR THE DAY:
“Time Is Short, Valuable And Irreplaceable. Don’t Waste Your Time, Invest It.”
The Fortress Int’l Church, 2 Floor 10 Coker Road, Opposite Chicken Republic Ilupeju Lagos, Nigeria.
http://www.thefortresschurch.com.
email: info@thefortresschurch.com.
