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In this day and age, when loyalty is often preached, we must make sure we know what it means to be faithful in an unfaithful world.  No matter, if it is caring for a sick, loved one, completing a task on your job, or even just going from day to day, faith in God is what we all need in order to make it in this life.  It is what holds us together when what we see doesn’t line up with what we know.  It is the spiritual matter that holds weight when everything else falls apart.

God has given all of us a measure of faith to believe, trust, and to grow.  I know there are times when you see or hear about people who are going through the same or similar situations, but they react differently to the same situation.  One is confident that they will get through their “right now” moment while the other person sees this “right now” moment as forever.  How is this possible?  Why does this happen?  It is because the faith of one is rooted while the other person is wavering in their faith.

As you continue to walk along this life’s journey, your faith will continuously be tested, but with every test that is passed comes another won victory.  Sure, we’ve had times in our lives where our faith was not always where it should have been.  We may have allowed external- or even internal- barriers to stop our faith from fully manifesting because of fear, doubt, and unbelief, but it takes faith to trust God when the reality isn’t lining up with the revelation. It takes faith to keep going when your circumstances are trying to stop you. It takes faith to move in a direction that is unknown to you. This is why it is important to understand the power of faith and how powerful of a weapon it can be when you choose to put your trust in God.

In the Bible, there are so many people who have been recognized as having great faith, but the one I’m really drawing attention to right now is Abraham.  Abraham is known as the father of many nations, but he did not start off that way.  This whole faith walk began for Abram (Abraham’s original name- his name was changed to Abraham when God established a covenant with him) in Genesis 12 when God told him to leave his country and go to the land He would lead him to, which would later end up being Canaan. Abraham took his wife Sarai (who would later become Sarah) and left without hesitation.  By the time Abraham left Haran, he was already 75 years old but even in his old age, God promised Abraham that he would make him a great nation and make his name great (Genesis 12:2).

Abraham believed in the covenant God made with him, but along the way, Sarah became doubtful. She supported her husband by following him when God told him to move, and she knew what God had promised was true, but as time went on, she lost hope. She allowed herself to believe that because she was old and past her childbearing years, she would not be able to have a child for Abraham. Because of this, Sarah decided that she would “assist” God by persuading Abraham to marry and have a child with her maidservant Hagar so that she could become a surrogate mother. Have you ever been there? Was there ever a time in your life where you knew that God promised you something but because it didn’t happen when you wanted it to, you felt that you had to “help God out” so that you get what you wanted?

Sarah’s plan worked. Hagar ended up getting pregnant and giving birth to Abraham’s son Ishmael, but Ishmael was not the promised child God told him about. Even though a detour took place along this process, God still kept His promise. Years later, Sarah got pregnant- when she was 90 years old and Abraham was 100 years old- and gave birth to a son named Isaac. It is through Isaac that the promise for Abraham was carried out. Through Isaac, the whole earth would be blessed through Abraham’s descendants because the Savior came into the world, and Jesus was the fulfillment of the promise that was made.

God spoke to Abraham when he was 75 years old, but his promised child wasn’t born until he was 100 years old. That’s 25 years Abraham held on to a word that God gave him before he saw it come to pass. How long are you willing to wait in faith for what God has promised you? Will you continue to trust in the Father no matter what you see, or will you allow what you see or have to go through to get the best of you? God’s timing is not our timing. He knows exactly what to start, stop, pause, and/or change in our lives in order to strengthen our faith so that His promises can be fulfilled for us and through us.

My prayer is that you will hold on to the promises the Father gives you no matter what. That you will continue to have the confidence in knowing that the promises the Father has for you are yes and Amen (2 Corinthians 1:20). That you will not look at your situations, or even yourself, as a measure to determine if God will fulfill the promises He has for you, but walk in the assurance of faith believing that He has already fulfilled His promises for you-starting with His Son, Jesus. That you will have faith to believe that that which God speaks to you is that which He has already done for you in Jesus’ Name, Amen.