WEEK 1 – DAY 2

BY FAITH, ABRAHAM

By trusting, he received potency to father a child, even when he was past the age for it, as was Sarah herself; because he regarded the One who had made the promise as trustworthy. Therefore, this one man, who was virtually dead, fathered descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and as countless as the grains of the sand on the seashore. Hebrews 11:11-12 (CJB)

Abraham made it into the “Hall of Faith” found in Hebrews chapter eleven. I love the bluntness of the Hebrews account, calling Abraham “virtually dead.” God began telling Abraham he would father a great nation when He called him to leave his home at seventy-five years old. The Lord clarified that it would be a child fathered by Abraham rather than adopted, so Abraham fathered Ishmael by Sarah’s handmaid at eighty-six. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when the Lord made it clear that he would father a child through Sarah, and she was well past menopause at eighty-nine! During that conversation with the Lord, Abraham literally rolled on the floor laughing! He believed God but kept trying to give the Lord a little assistance. However, what the New Testament records is that “by trusting” or in other translations, “by faith,” Abraham was given the ability to father a son, and Sarah was given the strength to carry one in her previously barren womb. Abraham was one hundred and Sarah was ninety when Isaac (Laughter) was born. Do the math. Abraham faithfully continued to follow God twenty-five more years after the initial promise that He would make him into a great nation! Have you been waiting on the Lord to move in a specific area of your life? Does it seem like He is dragging His feet in answering your prayer or giving you the desires of your heart? Keep trusting. Keep waiting. Keep obeying. He will cause you to rejoice (laugh) in His time.

Sovereign Lord, when we begin to doubt Your goodness and faithfulness, help us to remember that You will answer our prayers in Your way and time.