Heavenly Hope

            Abraham was a tenth-generation descendant of Noah. At the age of 75, he got a direct call from God Himself:

“Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you…and in you, all of the families will be blessed.” Gn. 12:1 – 3. ESV

            God is telling Abraham to take his wife, his nephew and a few servants and leave all that he has ever known, to embark upon a 1500-mile trek to a land (Canaan) that he has never seen. The promised carrot that God is motivating Abraham with, is that He will miraculously facilitate a child for he and his wife (also a septuagenarian).

 Abraham took a great leap of faith; and because of that faith, we enjoy many blessings in our walk of faith.

            Five years pass, and Abraham’s faith begins to waver; (this is actually a good thing for us to see because he is often referred to as the ‘father / paragon of faith,’ and even he experienced doubt. So, we shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves if we slip):

“O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless…” Gn. 15:2 ESV

            It is hard to wait on God sometimes, but His timing is always perfect. Jehovah does not delay gratification out of cruelty. No, He is expressing His love by nudging you into molding your character into a prepared vessel, to be able to make the most out of your granted petition, and to integrate that gift into His perfect plan concerning you.

            God responds to Abraham:

“…one who will come from your own body shall become your heir…Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them…so shall your descendants be.” Gn. 15:4, 5. NKJV

            This gives Abraham’s faith a big kick-start:

And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. Gn. 15:6 NKJV

            Thus, we can see that faith is required, to be in ‘right standing’ with Him.

            God always keeps His word. Still, Abraham was 100 years old when his son, Isaac was born…

            Fifteen years pass, and God visits Abraham with his biggest test of faith:

“Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” Gn. 22:2 NASB

Jehovah is telling Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on a burning pyre, such as was common with animal sacrifices as a form of worship. Moreover, that ritual of worship demanded that the sacrifice be killed prior to the burning.

Abraham immediately responds by faithfully taking Isaac to the mountain, building the pyre, and placing his son upon it. Then, he begins to draw back a knife to kill his son. What was Abraham’s faith based upon?

He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead… Heb. 11:19 ESV

He must have contemplated that since God promised his seed would the source of multitudes of nations, and that Isaac was the first part of that chain, his son could not die before he too propagated his line. Nevertheless, just as Abraham readied himself to thrust the knife, God sent an angel to stay his hand – accepting Abraham’s faithful intent. Jehovah responded:

“In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” Gn. 22:18 NKJV

So, we see that because biblical principles are eternal, when we obey, i.e. exercise our faith, our descendants are blessed as well. 

What does Abraham’s adventures have to do with being cherished by God? Well, God cherishes you, but you cannot enjoy the benefits of it, without faith. God does not work with those who operate in purposeful faithlessness:

…without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him. Heb. 11:6 AMP

The first important question then is, what is faith?

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Heb. 11:1 NASB

Faith is the hope in things that aren’t tangible to us yet, i.e. not available for the validation of our five senses. Most everything that God reveals to us, must be taken on faith – even creation itself:

By faith [that is, with an inherent trust and enduring confidence in the power, wisdom and goodness of God] we understand that the worlds (universe, ages) were framed and created [formed, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose] by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made of things which are visible. Heb. 11:3 AMP

Likewise, God takes the focus of your faith and manifests it from the spiritual realm into the material one. In fact, our entire walk with God must be undergirded with faith:

…for we walk by faith, not by sight [living our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God’s promises] – 2 Cor. 5:7 AMP

With faith, you can accomplish anything, because that is when God shows up:

“All things are possible to him who believes.” Mk. 9:23 NASB

Faith is also the bond that brings all God’s children together as one (Eph. 4:4 – 6). 

All this faith sounds great, but how do we go about getting it?

…God has allotted to each a measure of faith. Rm. 12:3 NASB

…let us run with endurance the race set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith… Heb. 12:1, 2. ESV

But the fruit of the Spirit is…faithfulness…Gal. 5:22 ESV

So faith comes from hearing [what is told] and what is heard comes by the [preaching of the] message concerning Christ. Rm. 10:17 AMP

Therefore, God gives us a gift of faith that He created through His Son, which is delivered to us by the Holy Spirit. It is nurtured and strengthened by immersing ourselves in the hearing of the gospel. 

There are many benefits that God sends our way when we exercise our faith. One is being made righteous, as we’ve learned from Abraham (see also Rm. 3:28). It also empowers us with divine strength and it protects us – even warding off the devil himself (Ps. 31:23, 56:4; 71:5, 6; & 125:1; Pt. 3:8; Eph. 6:16.). 

In fact, our faith brings us all of the promises of God):

“Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” Lk. 1:45 NKJV

We can both have this faith and sustain it because we know that God is faithful:

Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations: Ps. 119:89, 90. NASB

When we have faith in God and Jesus, we are transformed for all of eternity:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes in Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” Jn. 5:24 NASB

Finally, as we gather this faith, we need to share it, by bringing the kingdom message to as many as we can:

“…to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.” Acts 26:18 NKJV

Faith is the hope in the promises from the Creator of the universe, through His Son. That hope is a privilege, but given for free. From that hope, we draw upon the limitless power of God, manifesting it through Christ. It moves mountains, heals the sick, removes iniquities, strengthens and protects, walls off the devil, showers us with abundance and happiness and reserves our place in eternity. 

We have faith in the Faithful, drawn from the word of God, sealed by the Holy Spirit and remain focused on the resurrection of Christ. Keep the faith – rock solid…

Goodnight and God bless.