A NOTE FROM PASTOR MARGE
How do you have faith while the circumstances around you seem not only disappointing but even more so, hopeless? What do we do as Christians in seemingly hopeless situations?
The apostle Paul in our Scripture passage today invites us to remember the story of Abraham, the father of our faith. Abraham found himself in a seemingly hopeless situation almost 4,000 years ago. When Abraham was 75 years old, God told him that he would be the father of many nations (at 75 years of age!). However, it took God almost 25 years to come through on His promise, when Abraham was nearly 100 years old. What would you have done during those 25 years when God made a promise yet day after day, month after month, and year after year it seemed like God wasn’t fulfilling His promise?
I can tell you what Abraham did, and let me just tell you that Abraham was not always the man of great faith we remember him as. Long story short, Abraham not only pimped out his wife Sarah once, but twice. He also got sick and tired of waiting on God, so he decided to take matters into his own hands and sleep with his maid servant who lived in his house. She ended up pregnant and gave birth to an illegitimate child. Then Abraham decided to kick the maid servant and his illegitimate child out of his house because Sarah was not getting along with the maid servant (shocker). News flash: Abraham was a deadbeat dad and didn’t take care of his responsibilities.
So why does the apostle Paul write about the faithfulness of Abraham when it seems like Abraham was anything but faithful? Because our faith is rooted in God’s faithfulness to be who He says He is and to keep His promises. Even if your circumstances are all messed up, I’ve got some good news for you, church. Your circumstances are not your Savior, and they do not get to say who you are. Only the Sovereign King of the universe can tell you who you are. It is by grace through faith that God rewrites our stories.
God rewrote Abraham’s story (he was indeed the father of many nations) and He is rewriting your story. And so, what do you do when you find yourself in a seemingly hopeless situation? You just pick it all up and by faith you keep following Jesus. Don’t go chasing waterfalls, friends. Chase after Jesus Christ instead.
Marge
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