Hebrews 11:8 – By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Looking at the life of Abraham in Genesis is an extremely helpful and practical case study in faith. In some regards, he showed an extreme lack of faith, attempting to take things into his own hands many times instead of trusting the promises of God. On the other hand, in Hebrews 11, the great chapter on faith, most “heroes” of the faith are given one verse, but Abraham is given 12.
Abraham, like all of us, was a work in progress. Critics and enemies of Christianity and the Bible either see two kinds of believers – perfect or hypocrites – but the truth of the Bible is that the stories show the gap between being made new in Christ and ultimately perfect upon our entrance to Heaven.
The same Abraham who left most of his entire family, homeland, and all that he knew to follow a God he barely knew to an unknown place is also the guy who tried to give his wife away not once but twice. We may get it right sometimes, with the help of the Holy Spirit, but no one except Jesus gets it all right all of the time.
Ultimately, faith is something that you can grow in and learn more skill in, like learning a musical instrument or a foreign language. We can learn how to build and flex our “faith muscle” if you will, with the help of the Holy Spirit. As God continues to work in our lives, we can remember the promises He’s been faithful to fulfill as a way to bolster our faith.
What do you learn about faith (or lack thereof) from the life of Abraham and Sarah that you can avoid or implement in your own life?
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