Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief! Oh, for the faith of Abraham! Abraham did not doubt God’s promise in unbelief; rather he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God and was fully convinced that what God had promised He was also able to do. Romans 4:20-21.
You and I believe in God and in our Saviour Jesus Christ. We hear of His marvellous deeds in the scriptures, and our hearts are set on fire. Daily we seek Him, through personal prayer, devotions and the eucharistic sacrifice, scripture readings and meditations, faith groups, fellowship and evangelisation of our unbelieving neighbour.
Yet, when our boats are rocked, when the earth moves under our feet, when storm clouds gather, when calamity strikes, our hearts are quickly shaken. We have faith but it is a vague, distant feeling of hope while we quickly, often in the flesh, pivot to grapple with the realities of our new challenge, putting our minds to work – gathering resources, communicating with experts and counselors, outlining plans of action. Meanwhile, our families teeter under the strain and rifts arise as we each insist on our preferred path of resolution.
Stir up your faith!
In times of trouble, when answers to prayer are yet distant, is Abrahamic faith possible for us modern believers? Are we fully convinced that what God has promised He is also able to do?
I had the good fortune of encountering people of deep faith in the charismatic renewal of Mumbai, India in the late 1980s. I was a mere teenager, but their faith changed my life. They deeply trusted their Abba Father, no matter what circumstances they faced.
Personal prayer a priority
One thing they all had in common was their daily time spent in personal prayer – Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication – and in scripture reading. I remember a young sister telling me constantly, “Just trust the Father, Cheryl. He knows what is best.”
There is a tremendous peace that comes from trusting the Father to do what He has promised to do for us in His word. That He will give His angels charge over us to guard us in all our ways, that He will provide for all our needs according to His riches in glory, that He heals all our diseases and forgives all our sins, that He rescues our life from the pit.
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. The word of God opens our ears to hear and by hearing, our faith increases.
God’s promises are for us too
As we make extra time to bask in the promises of God for us as believers in Christ – promises of His peace, provision, presence, protection and even prosperity, we will be less tempted to greed, fear and pride described in today’s parable. Psalms 23, 27, 46 and 103, for example serve as wonderful reminders of the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord towards those who place their trust in Him.
The promise to Abraham was not meant for him only but for all of us who believe in the One who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. Let us end with this assurance from Psalm 103:17-18.
But from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—
18 with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.
