“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” GENESIS 12:2-3
Some things in the Christian life cannot be taught; they need to be experienced, just like faith. Faithfulness is not something we can master overnight. It has to be rooted in deep trust and love. It has to be applied every second of the day, and not only when it’s convenient. And so, every time I hear or see the word “faith,” I am reminded of the story of Abraham.
Abraham was 75 years old when God promised that he would be the father of many nations and that he would bless him as his name would be great. Imagine how he must have felt knowing that he and his wife, Sarah, were already old and were way past their reproductive years. Sarah was, in fact, already barren at that time. But 25 years after, God fulfilled that promise when Sarah gave birth to Isaac.
Not long after that, God called Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. This command was to test his faith in God. If you were him, would you be able to offer your son whom you love so much and whom you have waited for years? Well, Abraham did not hesitate to do what He was commanded to do. (read Genesis 22 to know more about this story!)
And after hundreds of years, the world received the greatest blessing we could ever have- Jesus Christ, one of Abraham’s descendants. True enough, God is faithful to fulfill His promises, but only if a person acts on his faith. Just like how Abraham demonstrated it. It took him years to see the faithfulness of God in his life and what good it brought him when he trusted and obeyed the Lord- it was all worth it.
Perhaps, you get disappointed or discouraged when everything is not going according to your timeline. It’s easy to wait, not until weeks become months and months become years. You ask Him, “God, how long? How many years more?”. But may you be reminded not to base your faith on what you can see alone or what the results are at the moment. It is called faith for a reason, isn’t it?
Beloved child of God, He has been faithful all your life, even when you’re not. So today and for the rest of your days, may you endure everything that it will take to hear the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”