By Faith Alone
Genesis 15:6 (New International Version)
6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Romans 5:1-2 (New International Version)
1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
"Believing God;" I'm finding that it's a choice. It usually involves believing in spite of what a person can see, not because of it; so I need to decide whether to believe the apparent evidence, or believe God because I choose to.
I read these verses on Friday morning and they powerfully came alive to me. God credited Abram with righteousness, simply because he believed him. And in the verses from Romans, I was reminded again that it's all about faith, which is another way of saying "believing."
Later that day at work, I was praying about some staffing shortages over the weekend in one of the homes run by the agency I work for. I knew that if the shifts weren't covered, that Susan, the manager; and my friend and fellow blogger, would be working them. I was very concerned for her. She had a break of a few days after Christmas and over New Years, and I didn't want the benefits of that much needed rest to evaporate. I prayed and believed God that those shifts would be covered.
We were both busy on Friday and it was late in the afternoon that she called. I asked about the shifts and had a perfect opportunity to practice believing in spite of the evidence. It looked like she was going to have to work 12 hours over the weekend. I managed a feeble, "Well, I'm believing God!" but I confess the words rang a little hollow I was thinking, "Okay, God, I'm doing the believing, come on now, I'm counting on you."
I wanted to be like George Mueller, that great man of faith and prayer, who exemplified believing God for the needs of a whole orphanage full of children; but my faith was wobbly I'll admit.
On Saturday afternoon Susan called. It was 1.15; 15 minutes after one of the shifts she should have been working would have started. But she sounded like she just called to chat.
"Aren't you at work?" I asked.
Susan said, "Didn't you get my email at the end of the day? Today's shift was covered. I only have to work 4 hours, tomorrow."
Oh, how I praised the Lord!
I was feeling sorry that I had been such a "wobbly believer," until this evening when I read in Genesis 17:17 that Abraham fell facedown and laughed when God told him that indeed, he, at ninety-nine, would be the father of a child with Sarah, who was ninety. Admittedly he had reason to laugh, but Abraham is still known for his faith and God honoured him for it.
This gives me hope that I may still learn to be a great woman of faith. I want to be--in every sense. I want to see astounding miracles. I want to see God proving himself faithful; even at the very last minute; and I want to be so sure of him that I don't question that it will be so.
6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Romans 5:1-2 (New International Version)
1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
"Believing God;" I'm finding that it's a choice. It usually involves believing in spite of what a person can see, not because of it; so I need to decide whether to believe the apparent evidence, or believe God because I choose to.
I read these verses on Friday morning and they powerfully came alive to me. God credited Abram with righteousness, simply because he believed him. And in the verses from Romans, I was reminded again that it's all about faith, which is another way of saying "believing."
Later that day at work, I was praying about some staffing shortages over the weekend in one of the homes run by the agency I work for. I knew that if the shifts weren't covered, that Susan, the manager; and my friend and fellow blogger, would be working them. I was very concerned for her. She had a break of a few days after Christmas and over New Years, and I didn't want the benefits of that much needed rest to evaporate. I prayed and believed God that those shifts would be covered.
We were both busy on Friday and it was late in the afternoon that she called. I asked about the shifts and had a perfect opportunity to practice believing in spite of the evidence. It looked like she was going to have to work 12 hours over the weekend. I managed a feeble, "Well, I'm believing God!" but I confess the words rang a little hollow I was thinking, "Okay, God, I'm doing the believing, come on now, I'm counting on you."
I wanted to be like George Mueller, that great man of faith and prayer, who exemplified believing God for the needs of a whole orphanage full of children; but my faith was wobbly I'll admit.
On Saturday afternoon Susan called. It was 1.15; 15 minutes after one of the shifts she should have been working would have started. But she sounded like she just called to chat.
"Aren't you at work?" I asked.
Susan said, "Didn't you get my email at the end of the day? Today's shift was covered. I only have to work 4 hours, tomorrow."
Oh, how I praised the Lord!
I was feeling sorry that I had been such a "wobbly believer," until this evening when I read in Genesis 17:17 that Abraham fell facedown and laughed when God told him that indeed, he, at ninety-nine, would be the father of a child with Sarah, who was ninety. Admittedly he had reason to laugh, but Abraham is still known for his faith and God honoured him for it.
This gives me hope that I may still learn to be a great woman of faith. I want to be--in every sense. I want to see astounding miracles. I want to see God proving himself faithful; even at the very last minute; and I want to be so sure of him that I don't question that it will be so.
Comments
It's catchy, you know - that kind of faith. Within five minutes the first phone call came in announcing the coverage of the first half of that long shift Saturday and it was less than an hour later that the second call came to cover the rest of it.
This is going to be a great year... the year of "believing God" for great things. Our George Mueller year!