No unbelief made [Abraham] waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Romans 4:20
Wow, I pray that the Lord strengthens our faith as we give glory to Him. Let's break this verse down to discover truths about a godly faith.
LIVING IN THE "YES"
Believing God’s promises requires more than just our minds.
Even the demons believe God! So what's the difference between their belief and ours? Our belief involves our affections. We cherish God’s promises and find joy in them. God’s promises reaches beyond belief in the promise, leading us to humbly worship the Promiser. Living in the “yes” is way more than enjoying the benefits of God’s promises. It is enjoying the Giver Himself! Notice, in Romans 4:20, Abraham gave glory to God -- God gets all the glory as we trust Him! We love God more than we love reading about His promises. God’s Word leads us to cherish Him. Don’t stop short!
Living in the “Yes” requires constant fighting against our flesh and the world’s empty promises.
In order to believe God's promises, we must know them. We must hide God’s promises in our heart so that we can recall them to our minds in moments of doubt and unbelief. Abraham grew strong in His faith (Rom. 4:20). Faith is a muscle we must work out. God uses trials and temptation to strengthen our faith muscles. The more we step out of our comfort zone and truly trust God’s promises with the big things, the stronger our faith will grow to trust God with every thing. God promised Abraham that He would be the father of many nations. In response to God's Word, no unbelief made Abraham waver (Rom. 4:20). Not even the fact that he and his wife were too old to have children. God's promises trump our circumstances every time.
We must take hold of these promises and pray that the Lord opens our eyes to the riches of his grace and the lengths of his love. The more we know God’s Word, the more we know God’s promises. The more we know God’s promises, the more we can lean on them for rest, peace, and endurance. The more we lean on God’s promises, the better we can love those around us and walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. But we can't trust God's promises on our own. We need the Holy Spirit's help. Along with the father of the boy Jesus healed, we pray in all humility and weakness, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief (Mark 9:24)!"
God’s promises fulfilled may look different than we think.
As we read God's Word, lies from the Devil pop into our minds. Thoughts like, “God is not doing _____ like he said he would." He has not healed me. He has not delivered me. He has not protected me. In times of doubt, let us recall Psalm 23. Even when we walk through the valley, we can fear no evil. Why? Not because God will remove us from the valley but because he promises to protect us with his rod through it! Sometimes all God gives us is the promise of endurance as we wait on Him to work ALL things for our good. And His endurance is more than enough. He knows what we need better than we do. Even if the way God fulfills a promise does not completely remove our discomfort or suffering, we cling to the daily mercies and inward spiritual blessings God gives us in the midst of the valley.
Remember, God not only keeps His promises but He gives us His promises in a way that is best for us and will give Him the most glory. God fulfills His promises in both the giving and the preventing. By preventing something to happen in our life, he fulfills his promise. And no matter what, we can place our hope in the exciting knowledge that all of God's promises will be fully and completely filled at Christ’s return. Those with the hope of heaven know that one day, God will forever heal us from all disease, God will forever deliver us from all turmoil, and God will forever protect us from all evil.
A life of believing the “Yes” of God’s promises is a life of freedom.
It frees us for a life of humble gratitude. Every promise is because of Christ, not our own works (Rom. 4:16).
It frees us to live boldly. We quickly say "Yes" to big Kingdom tasks for we are God's humble servants who say, "Nothing is impossible with God; let it be to me according to your Word" (Luke 1:37).
It frees us to live in overflowing hope. In the face of suffering, we can sing praises to the Lord, like Paul and Silas did in prison, for we know our final destination (Rom.15:13, Acts 16).
It frees us to say “Yes” to others. Just as Paul did for the Corinthians, we work with Believers for their joy out of God's "Yes" to them (2 Cor. 1:24).
It frees us to shine Christ's light. People see our overflowing hope and glorify God (Matt. 5:16).
It frees us to say “no” to ungodliness (empty promises) & “Yes” to godliness. We know that what God promises us is far better than what sin promises (Eph. 6:16, Heb. 11:24-26).
It frees us from a dependency on circumstances to make us happy. We know that the secret to being content is knowing that we can do all things through Christ who gives us His strength (Phil. 4:12-13). We depend on the One who will never disappoint us. He makes even the bad things in our life serve us for our good (Gen. 5:20).
The Challenge
1. Memorize the promises of God you struggle to say “yes” to for you and/or others.2. The next time you say “Amen,” may it be a humble, trusting cry of “Yes, I believe you God."
3. Do not underestimate the promises of God. God does not give us the bare minimum requirement to check off the box saying he fulfilled it. He gives us exceedingly abundantly all that we could ever ask or imagine (Eph. 2:20)!
4. Pray bold prayers according to the promises of God, knowing He can do it! Do not bring God or His Word down on your level of unbelief.
5. Pray that God would reveal to you the full extent of His “yes” to you. Ask Him to help your unbelief.
May we read God's Word, boldly claim His promises for our life, find joy in our expectancy, and then live in light of our confident hope.
In closing, let's pray for ourselves Paul’s prayer over the church of Ephesus that God would open our eyes to His promises.
Father of glory, may you give he Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of you, having the eyes of their hearts enlightened, that they may know what is the hope to which you have called them, what are the riches of your glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of your power toward all who believe, according to the working of your great might that you worked in Christ when you raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. Ephesians 1:17-21
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