2.10.2009

Boyd Bailey: Faith Stretcher…

“Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, ‘Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” Genesis 17:17

Sometimes God’s will is not logical or doesn’t even seem possible. Abraham certainly struggled with the idea of being a parent as a centenarian, and his wife conceiving at ninety years of age. It wasn’t possible; it didn’t make sense. Yet in reality all things are possible with God, and this was one of them.

The Lord made a promise that was out of the ordinary. He wanted to mark this occasion with an indelible stamp of a “God thing”. Abraham tried to let God off the hook of this miraculous method by offering Him another plan. However, God was not interested in another plan, He was interested in setting the stage for a blessing that would validate his sovereignty and that would take the faith of Abraham, Sarah and an entire nation to a whole other level. God wants us and He wants us to take Him at his word.

Why is it hard to take God at His word? Why do we struggle with believing in something that is not logical or that takes us out of our comfort zone? One reason we struggle is because of our perception of God. We make Him so small. We bring Him down to our level rather than allowing him to pull us up to his level! This is man-centered thinking; instead let’s allow God to be God.

Faith allows us to travel places with God that we would never experience otherwise. Wouldn’t you rather be in the middle of a lake in a storm with Jesus, than on the calm shore around a warm fire without him? This is where faith trumps logic. We trust Him when it doesn’t make sense; we follow Him when we are not sure of the destination. We believe him when others think we are strange, too religious or even fanatical. Let your Savior stretch your faith, and trust Him with the opportunity in front of you. Has your laughter turned to trust in God, and awe of His accomplishments? The Bible says, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (John 8:46, NASB).

Related Readings: Deuteronomy 9:18-25; Psalm 126:1; Matthew 2:11; Romans 4:20

Transformational Living
What impossibility am I facing, but will trust God that with Him it’s possible?

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My thoughts!
I love the story of Abraham & Sarah! We named our son Isaac "to laugh" because of this story. GOD is awesome in what he can do.

I love this line because it's so true. We make Him so small. We bring Him down to our level rather than allowing him to pull us up to his level! This is man-centered thinking; instead let’s allow God to be God.

Can you only imagine what this world would be like if we all allowed GOD to pull us up to his level!!!

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