Dear Missionary Lady,
Greetings in the name of the true God who always keeps His promises.
Do I believe the Bible? Of course, the answer is an immediate “Yes.” Does every word of the Bible always make complete sense to me? Well, no. In years gone by, there have even been a few times when I read something in the Bible and shook my head in protest. If someone had really pressed me, I don’t think I could have actually said the words, “It’s not true,” but it certainly seemed like it was untrue. Any comprehension of how it was true was beyond me.
I think that when we struggle regarding the Bible, that is the issue. Mentally, we assent that it is true. Even when we read something that seems contradictory to our experience, we don’t want to say that the Bible is wrong, but sometimes the verses about blessing and good and deliverance can be troublesome. Lately I have found myself expressing the dilemma in this way: “I don’t understand HOW it is true in my life, but I know and believe that it IS true.”
I think Abraham is a good case study in this respect. Much of Abraham’s life was a trial of faith. It is not my intention to malign Abraham, and my conclusion will make that clear, but Abraham did struggle. Like us, I don’t think he doubted the promises of God, but he did not always understand how they could be true. In this way, I find it easy to relate to Abraham. I think we can be encouraged by looking at Abraham’s struggle and then seeing what it was that brought him through with victorious faith.
God made promises to Abraham: a great nation, a great name, a profound impact. More practically, God promised Abraham a land and a son. How much of this did Abraham actually see? He came to the land. While he was in and out a few times, most of the time he lived there, but he lived there as a stranger. Abraham never possessed any of the land until he purchased a burial plot 62 years after the promise was made. As far as a son, he only had to wait 25 years for that.
It's safe to say that Abraham’s trial of faith was lengthy. Abraham struggled at times along the way. He believed God’s promises, but on multiple occasions he did not understand how God was bringing them about. Some of his actions and statements reveal that he didn’t always get it.
When a famine arose, Abram and Sarai went to Egypt. Afraid he would be killed for his beautiful wife, he asked Sarai to identify as his sister. (Genesis 12:10-20). He knew God had made the promises, but at the moment, they seemed impossible. How could God fulfill the promises if Abram was dead? Since he didn’t understand how God’s plan could work, Abram made his own plan.
Years passed, and there was still no son. Even as God reassured Abram in a vision, Abram revealed his lack of understanding. He suggested that his servant Eliezer be his heir. (Genesis 15:1-4). Because he did not understand how God could make His promises true, Abram tried to think of a solution.
More time passed without a son. This time Sarai came up with the plan, but Abram went along with it. Ten years after the promise, Abram didn’t see how God could make it happen. He believed God that he would have a son, but he didn’t understand how. So Abram had a son by Hagar. (Genesis 16:1-4). He later brought this idea again to God as a solution (17:18).
Fourteen more years. God came to renew the promises and finally gave a timeline. It was less than one year until God would give Abraham and Sarah a son! Abraham moved down to the southern desert and revived an old problem – Sarah’s desirability to other men. Once again he asked her to identify as his sister. (Genesis 20). During the very time that the conception was imminent, Sarah was taken into Abimelech’s house. At this time, Abraham clearly did not understand how God was going to fulfill His promise. It must have seemed so impossible that it didn’t even matter that they weren’t living together.
When Isaac was finally born, there arose new conflict and questions regarding Ishmael. It seemed that there were two potential heirs, and this greatly distressed both Sarah and Abraham. (Genesis 21:9-12). Abraham seemed upset by the possibilities. With Ishmael still living in the home, how could Isaac alone be the heir? So Abraham came up with a plan to make sure there was no competition.
Finally, Abraham faced what was probably the hardest to understand when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac. (Genesis 22:1-14). How could God’s plan possibly work with Isaac dead? Abraham’s faith had grown, and although he did not understand, he assured Isaac that God would provide the sacrifice. Hebrews 11 tells us Abraham believed God could bring Isaac back to life. It’s interesting that in this case, which we would call a victory for Abraham’s faith, even though Abraham had an idea, he still didn’t understand! His idea was wrong, but his faith was right.
Each of these situations reveal that, while Abraham believed God’s promises, he didn’t understand how they were going to happen. As he compared his life with what God had said, Abraham repeatedly conveyed, “I don’t get it!” When he tried to help God out by making suggestions, it’s like he was asking, “Is this what You mean? Is this how You are going to do it?”
There’s no shame in not understanding the intricacies of God’s plan. No man can. What got Abraham through when he didn’t understand? Abraham continued following and obeying God. The story of Abraham is saturated with instances of obedience (12:4, 13:12, 17:23, 22:3), worship (12:7, 13:4, 13:18, 21:33), and faith (14:23, 15:6, 24:7). These are the practical displays, but what was at the root?
Abraham’s successful journey was all because he chose to believe. He believed for decades without seeing the promises. He “died in faith, not having received the promises” (Hebrews 11:13). He believed in spite of impossibilities – “against hope believed in hope” (Romans 4:18). He looked to the long-term reward rather than temporary. He "desire[d] a better country” (Hebrews 11:16). Abraham was willing to accept what God had promised even though he only saw glimpses of it.
I believe the most instructive conclusion about Abraham is that he did not look at the immediate. His faith was strong because he was willing to trust that God would ultimately do all that He had promised. Although the mid-range observation was impossible to understand, Abraham looked far into the future. He knew that in the end it would all happen exactly as God had said, even if the middle was messy.
That is what we also must do. Things in the middle will be messy. We won’t understand. We might struggle with how God’s Word can be true for us in the middle of it all. But we must do as Abraham did – continue to obey, to worship, and to follow in faith. We must anchor ourselves with the conviction that in the end, it will all come out exactly as God has said.
“He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform” (Romans 4:20-21). Indeed, He will!
Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
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