"Faith in His Faithfulness"

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Remember that old fable about the tortoise and the hare? The wisdom of that tale surely seems forgotten these days. Sometimes this world with its fast pace, labels you a loser if you’re not going at top/break neck speed like the hare in the story. You’ve heard it said that consistency is a good thing. Well, I am a lot slower these days (moving like the tortoise) and I find myself “consistent” in my slowness. That is never so true than it is with my time I spend in my own personal Bible study. Right now I am in the book of Romans. It is a very slow process, because I only read one verse a day. I like to take the time to look up certain words in a Bible concordance for deeper meaning. In addition, I also like to search out Bible scholars for their consensus as they expound on further meaning. Then, I not only write this all down in a book, but also whatever the Lord is teaching me through the verse.

There are times when I know God’s Spirit encourages me to stay put and meditate on a particular verse, even if it takes several days (hence, this is why I am so slow). I know He does not want me to just “plow through” the Bible just because it is a new day. Instead, He wants me to relish our time together and meditate on the truth of each passage. The Lord has so much to speak into my life, if only I would slow down to listen.

Recently I was in Romans 4:18 “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed…”

This verse is referring back to Genesis 15 when the LORD came to Abraham to say he would be the father of many nations, even though Abraham was very old and still had not had a child. We are told Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.

I then read Adam Clark’s commentary about this verse and, for whatever reason, his words struck such a chord with me. Here is what he said, “The faith of Abraham bore an exact correspondence to the power and never-failing faithfulness of God.” He goes on with his summary, but it was this particular comment that God illuminated brightly for me.

I had to ask myself, like Abraham, is my faith a sustaining faith? Does it hold up and always move forward in a persistent manner, matching in the same precise agreement, to the omnipotence and faithfulness of God? Do I fully trust God with the unseen future, the unanswered questions that I have now? Do I believe that the promises He has for me will in fact come to fruition? Abraham was credited righteous because of his faith in God whom he knew that whatever God said was so sure to happen that it was though the future promise was counted as happening now. God’s word is proleptic. Proleptic (prolepsis) means: “The taking of something future as already done or existing. It also means “the assignment of something, as an event or name, to a time that precedes it.” Am I walking in that kind of faith? Is my God that big in my eyes, in my heart, in my deep down and private convictions? If I haven’t in the past, it is a choice I can start doing today. How about you? Do you want to trust like Abraham did? Yes, we do!!

Lord God, thank you for Your precious Word. You illuminate Yourself through Your written Word, as well as just time spent with You. Teach me, train me and test me, so that I may be a woman after Your heart. I want to walk worthy of Your calling for me. I want my faith to bear the exact correspondence to Your power and faithfulness. Amen.

 

May it be our desire that we be women who live in the present and are aware of the world around us. May we take notice of the blessings God gifts to each of us, and always long to hear His whispers. Shall we also pray with a more purposeful focus on God’s will? And as we stay connected in our relationship with Christ, we will become more thankful followers. Let us commit to doing this together! Close your eyes…Open your heart, let God’s Spirit empower you today.