Abraham: A Man of Obedient, Patient, and Willing Faith

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Genesis 15:6

And he (Abraham) believed in the LORD, and He (God) accounted it to him for righteousness.

NKJV

Imagine, God himself telling you that your belief in the Lord makes you righteous with God.  Even though this may appear to be a farfetched idea, because of Jesus sacrifice on the cross, we can all experience having God see us as righteous (2 Corinthians5:21).  We therefore have a right standing with God through Christ. 

Abraham also provides an example of a faith that is,

1)      Obedient to the calling of God – Upon receiving a calling from God, Abram left Ur to journey to the land God promised him (Genesis 12:1-9).  Ur, a flourishing city was a place in which Abram and his family could have stayed probably enjoying a comfortable life.  (1)  However, Ur was also a place of pagan worship, most likely the moon-god.  (2)  As a man of God, Abraham was not comfortable in this atmosphere and obediently obeyed God’s call to go to the land God promised him.

2)      Patient waiting for the fulfillment of the promise of God – God’s promise to Abram was that he would make him into a great nation (Genesis 12:2).  A nation consisting of himself and Sarai would hardly be considered a great nation so Abram knew God was promising him and Sarai children.  However, in what some may consider a cruel twist of fate, Sarai is barren and without child (Genesis 11:30) and even though Abram was a man of righteous faith (Genesis 15:6), he was also human and grew impatient.  This led to the birth of Ishmael.  Abram’s impatience however did not prevent God from fulfilling his promise to Abram and at the age of 100, the promised son Isaac was born (Genesis 21:5). 

3)      Willing to obey God even when it makes no sense – In what could be considered another cruel twist of fate, God then asks Abram to do the unthinkable, offer up Isaac, the son Abram waited so long for, as a sacrifice to God (Genesis 22:1-2).  When asked by Isaac on the way up the mountain where the lamb for the sacrifice is, Abram replied, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.”  (Genesis 22:8).  Hebrews 11:17-19 tells us that even if God did not provide a substitute lamb for sacrifice, Abram believed God would raise his son from the dead if necessary.  So strong was Abraham in his faith that he willingly obeyed God even when it made no sense.  This willingness of Abram to offer up Isaac now provides a beautiful picture of God offering up His only Son Jesus as the substitute lamb for our sins.

We too must develop an obedient faith like Abrahams in these last days.  We must obediently follow the call of God on our lives.  However, this does not mean we run when we feel some urge on our hearts to go for before going we must be sure it is the will of God and not just some whimsical idea of our own.  I urge everyone to prayerfully seek God’s will for their lives and before taking any giant leap of faith like Abram did, seek counsel from church leadership.  

We must be patient in our faith as Abram was, knowing that Jesus’ promise to return is true and that he only delays so everyone has an opportunity to accept his free gift of salvation (2 Peter 3:9).  While waiting for the Lords return, we must be busy sharing the Gospel with those God places in our path instead of growing impatient. 

We must be willing in our faith as Abram was.  We will not be asked to sacrifice one of our children for the only sacrifice necessary for salvation from our sins was offered when God offered up His only Son Jesus (John 3:16).  However, God may ask us to do something uncomfortable or even dangerous, of course seek counsel before doing anything dangerous to insure it is the will of God.  Our willingness to become uncomfortable or take a risk may be just what is needed to bring someone to accept Jesus, the Lamb provided by God, for salvation from his or her sins. 

In 2016, the United States will have an election.  However, as we see the culture in our world degenerate into something resembling the culture in Sodom and Gomorrah, we must be willing to be uncomfortable or even take some risks in order to stand strong in our faith.  Let us pray we are like Abraham, obedient, patient, and willing in our faith. 

1. Biblicaltraining.org. Ur of the Chaldees. www.biblicaltraining.org. [Online] biblicaltraining. [Cited: January 3, 2016.] https://www.biblicaltraining.org/library/ur-chaldees.

2. BibleStudyTools.com. Ur of the Chaldees. www.biblestudytools.com. [Online] BibleStudyTools.com. [Cited: January 3, 2016.] www.biblestudytools.com/encyclopedias/isbe/ur-of-the-chaldees.html.