The Faithfulness of Abraham

Abram was a man who lived about 2,000 BC. He was the son of a man named Terah, and had two brothers, Haran and Nahor. His wife's name was Sarai. Abram and his wife, with their people, and Abram's nephew, Lot and his wife and children, were called by the LORD to leave for Canaan. Faithfully, Abram left with his family for Canaan. When they had arrived in Canaan, the land was already occupied. The LORD told Abram that this land would become the land of his descendants, that they would live there one day. This promise was fulfilled hundreds of years later when Joshua and the people reached the "promised land."

Abram was promised that through him, a great nation, a multitude of people numbered so many that, like the stars, they could not be counted. This promise was fulfilled. The problem was that his wife Sarai could not conceive, and they were old.

So, according the old custom, Abram took Sarai's servant, Hagar, and she had his eldest son "Ishmael." Then, the Bible tells us that Abram was visited by Three Men. (The Trinity - Father, Son, Holy Spirit) They told Abram and Sarai that she would give birth to a son, named Isaac.

Abram was re-named Abraham, and Sarai, Sarah, by the LORD. The point of telling you all this is to lead up to example of faithfulness. When Isaac was young, God asked Abraham to offer Isaac as a burnt offering.

Through all of the struggles that he had faced, from leaving his homeland, to trusting God to provide for his family, everything that he had gone through, he knew that he had disappointed God too many times, and did not want that to happen again, with the short life he had left. (He was 86 when Isaac was born.)

Reluctantly, Abraham took Isaac to the mountain, bound his hands and feet, and before he could strike, God said to Abraham, (Genesis 22:12) "Do not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son." When Abraham looked up, he saw a ram caught in a bush by its thorns. God provided.

The point I am trying to make here is this. If you trust in God, put your faith in him, being faithful until the very end, he will see your trust, see your faithfulness. God will provide. Sometimes, we are tested. Other times, things happen because of the choices that we make. Through it all, no matter how hard something may be, God is always there.

Abraham is a shining example of how we should be faithful. Am I saying to go try to offer your son as a burnt offering? Of course not! What I am saying is that if God asks you to do something, no matter how large, or how trivial it may seem, show faithfulness in everything that you do.

When God called out to Abraham, he responded by saying, "Here I am!" Abraham spoke with humility. God called out urgently. Was Jesus thinking of his own sacrifice that would occur two thousand years later when this occurred? Quite possibly.

When God told Joshua to march around Jericho for 7 Days, Joshua was faithful, and followed through. These people were ordinary people, and they trusted in the Lord. They obeyed his commands, and they proved loyal and faithful all the while. (You can find this story in Joshua 5:13-6:27)

We can learn by example. In everything we do, we should all be faithful. When I was called to write this blog and to start a Youth Group, it made me wonder what people would think. I wondered what people would do, what people would say. "If our God is for us, then what can stand against?" None can.

Like Abraham, I tried to be faithful in writing this. I try to write as often as I can. I am nowhere near as faithful as Abraham was, but I can learn something from his example, and so can you. It doesn't take blind faith to believe, God makes himself known to you in different ways.

We all need improvement in our relationship with God, no matter where we stand with him. Let Abraham's Faithfulness be a good example.

Take Care, and God Bless You. Troy Hillman