Monday 3 December 2007

He did not waver at the promise of God

“He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,” - Romans 4v20

Have you ever received news that just caused you to stagger in unbelief? A few months ago someone sent money to our church to help with building rent. When I took it to the bank to lodge it the dollar had just started its collapse and I was staggered out how few euro we got for the amount of dollars we lodged. Just yesterday we got some news that caught us off guard and I had that same feeling again. It is that caught off guard, can’t catch your breath feeling. Do you know what I am talking about?

Sometimes the news that does this can be the “too good to be true” variety. There are times when we hear something that just seems like it can’t really happen so we keep wondering with fear and trepidation.

The root of both responses when it comes right down to it we don’t really believe God can still work. When the news is bad we immediately wonder if God can really sort it out. When the news is good we wonder if God could really have done something like this. We waver, or stagger as the KJV puts it, because our first response is fleshly.

When Abraham was almost 100 years old God told him that he and Sarah were going to have a son. Sarah overheard it and she responded like we would have, “Me, barren Sarah, have a son,” and she laughed at the idea. But good old Abraham did not even waver. The news could not stagger him. He did not waver at the promise of God in his unbelief, but was strengthened in his faith and thereby gave glory to God. His faith allowed him to believe that even old Sarah could bear a son.

The amazing news is that she did. I love the simple yet profound phrase of an Andrew Peterson son – “Barren Sarah bore a son.” God made good on Him promise.

What promises of God are you and I wavering at today? Do we really believe that God can meet all our needs? Do we really believe that God can sort out those difficult situations that we can’t see an answer for? Are we staggered by His promise that all things work together for good to those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose?

When we are wavering and when we are staggering in unbelief we would do well to remember Abraham’s faith and the fact that barren Sarah did indeed bear a son!

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