LifeLink Devotions for Monday, September 9, 2024

When I read the next step of faith God gives to Abraham, I recognize a difference between me and him. Abraham believed in the impossible but needed proof of the probable. I tend to be the opposite. When God speaks in terms and circumstances I can understand in my finite thoughts, I believe Him. It’s the hard-to-believe conclusions that give me problems. But Abraham was the opposite.

Genesis 15:7-8  “God said to him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” But Abraham said, “O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”

Abraham believed in the impossibility of a son, and in the future Son of God that would come 1500 years later, but he could not accept without proof that the land in which he was already living would be his. Sometimes our faith can be so fickle. What amazes and thrills me is that God meets us at the neediest point of our faith. The LORD God did not reject Abraham for his need of proof, nor did he criticize him and tell him to grow up. He answered the request for proof by establishing an unbreakable covenant that guaranteed the outcome.

There is great comfort in knowing that God does not require our faith to be perfect: He only requires that we be willing to be taught to have greater faith. I am so thankful that God is patient with us and graciously deals with our weaknesses. Imagine what a horrible condition we would be in if God were to treat us in any way other than with grace and mercy. We would live in fear and total despair because we would be constantly reminded of our failures. It breaks my heart to see parents treat their children this way, and to see the broken spirits of the children resulting in lives of either criminal rebellion or emotional separation. So many of the drug, alcohol, and sexual addictions of our youth are directly traceable to their lack of personal value that should have been bestowed through the grace and mercy of parents. It may be because the parents weren’t present, or maybe because they didn’t model grace.

God’s grace is amazing. Even the sound of that word is sweet. His grace saved sinful wretches like us. You remember the song: “Amazing grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I’m found; was blind but now I see.”

I praise God that he does not treat me as I tend to treat others, but rather meets me at my point of need and graciously meets that need. It is vital to the growth of our faith that we trust the grace of God so that we can be honest with Him about where we are struggling. Tell Him your struggles today and listen for His response. He will confirm His promise and affirm your faith.

Pastor John