His journey took him over burning sand that scorched its way through his sandals. The gusting wind wrapped the robes about him. In the desert and through the night, Abraham stood resolute in faith despite his circumstances. Abraham stands as an example of faith in a covenant keeping God despite the trials he faced and the failures he exhibited.
Miracle or Not
Last week, I was introduced to a song, whose lyrics struck a chord within my heart. (See here for full lyrics.) The title of the song is Miracle or Not sung by Alisa Turner. For some reason the following stanza brought to mind this patriarch of the Old Testament.
Miracle or Not
I will sing it
till my broken heart believes
I’ll declare it
Till I smell the smoke of faith
And with my hands held high
I’ll scream it in the darkness
Till hope is finally louder
Than the ache
Chorus:
As long as it takes
For my heart to find its song
As long as it takes to know
I’m still not alone
And at the end of the day
I’ll stand right here and say
I know that you love me
Miracle or not.
Within this stanza you can hear the hard decision to leave behind the security of the seen and grasp with eyes of faith the insecurity of what remains unseen. Over and over again, Abraham found himself grappling with faith and finding God sufficient.
Faith’s Beginning
Abraham’s choice to leave the comforts of a wealthy lifestyle and follow the call of God was the beginning of his faith journey. It wasn’t just an event, it was a faith that would be honed and shaped in the everyday trials and failures that he faced.
As we look back over Abraham’s life story, we see long, dark nights, unending years, glaring failures and a toilsome journey coupled with hard choices, a defining surrender, a growing faith and a God who was and still is enough.
There were times Abraham wrestled with his mind, emotions and will and miserably failed. On the other hand, repentance and turning his focus back to the Almighty God are the shining testaments in his journey of faith.
We, too, will face times of wrestling, hard decisions and defining surrender. It is in those times we must come face to face with El Shaddai. The God that is enough. Until we recognize with utmost confidence the God of the Bible as our personal Savior and Guide, we will struggle with our faith.
Facing Famine and Failure
It was when God called Abram to leave his country and his family that God gave to Abram the promise of becoming a great nation. His obedience was the first step on this journey of faith. Year after year came and went, yet children weren’t a part of the story. Egypt called in the midst of a severe famine and Abram turned his steps away from Canaan. There is no record of Abram’s communion with God while in Egypt. In fact, God moved on Pharaoh through plagues to ‘kick Abram out of Egypt’ so to speak.
When our focus has drifted to the world around us, mishaps are created and choices we never intended to make when we first started on our faith journey are made. Praise be to God, that He does not give up on us. Failure is not final with God. When we adjust our focus back on to Jesus, clarity once again returns.
Abram found this to be true. It was after his foray into Egypt and his subsequent journey out of Egypt that we find God speaking to Abram again. This time in Genesis 15, God quiets Abrams fears and reminds him that He would be his Shield and Protector.
God’s Unconditional Covenant
It was at this juncture that God spells out more details of the promise. For you see, Abram had questions. As we all do. I’m sure questions had been a part of Abram’s life since he first left Ur of Chaldees. However, it wasn’t till now that God gave more specifics. God informed Abram that the promise was not going to be fulfilled through Abram’s human reasoning. That human reasoning was making Abram’s servant his heir.
Furthermore, God initiated a covenant ceremony with Abram. Abram presented sacrificial animals to God, just as God had requested. It was within this covenant ceremony that Abram fell into a deep sleep and a terrifying darkness fell upon him. Then God spoke and laid out a portion of his plan for Abram’s descendants.
After the sun went down, Abram saw a smoking furnace and a burning lamp move between the pieces of his animal sacrifice. This occurrence was the manner in which God sealed his covenant with Abram. It was an unconditional covenant of God to Abram that was not dependent upon what Abram did or did not do. This was a promise that God would keep his end of the covenant no matter what.
Faith in the Darkness
It was here in this context of Abram’s story that the above song connected to Abram for me. Abram faced questions and terrifying darkness. The miracle that had been promised had not materialized. His struggles to see the answers to his questions and to find a way for God’s promise to come true for him must have been intense. He ached to see the fulfillment of the promise. He had to choose to believe what He could not see.
It is in these times of our lives, when it looks like God has failed us, that we must stand on the Word of God. The struggle for our faith is real. It’s a choice we must all make. We will face a battle between the security of what we can see and the insecurity of what we cannot see. The enemy wages war against us. His goal is to use our unbelief as a means for certain defeat. When we doubt God our spiritual sight is eclipsed and our testimony hindered.
Wrestle against Unbelief
Unbelief will come in like a wave if we give it even the smallest foothold. Through the dark night and when the miracles don’t come we must wrestle our way to victory. There is a point where we can place our questioning minds, unstable emotions and surrendered will under the authority of the Sovereignty of God.
Moreover, there comes a time when even in the dark and through the aching circumstances of life, our faith can sing out that God is still good. The knowledge of his love for us wraps us in a warm embrace. And that becomes the resting place for our faith.
Even after this encounter with the covenant-keeping God, we find Abram facing failure again in regards to working out the details of what he thought God’s plan would look like. Hagar became his answer. For thirteen years Abram lived with the certainty that he had helped God out of a predicament by planning for Ishmael to be his heir. However, God’s timeline was not Abram’s.
The Covenant Repeated
At ninety-nine years of age, God still was not done honing Abram’s faith. In chapter 17 of Genesis, God came again to Abram and brought words of confirmation and a guarantee that the promise would be fulfilled as God saw fit. God came as El Shaddai in this encounter. This name of God means, God is enough. This encounter brought Abram to a deeper understanding of God. It was at this time that God changed Abram’s name to Abraham.
As we look further into Abraham’s storyline, we find that this encounter became the bedrock that Abraham needed. The acknowledgment that God was enough brought the birth of Isaac, gave Abraham the strength needed to send Ishmael away, as well as prepared him for the trek up Mount Moriah.
Abraham’s example is a testament to us that God will be enough. We, too, can know this in the depths of our heart and soul. God is enough for whatever we face. In the dark, when the miracle does not come, God is still good. He is faithful and He is enough. Through the storm, we can rest in the knowledge of God’s love for us in spite of our circumstances. When we don’t have answers and our attempts to “fix” our problems fall flat, we can reach out to the God who is enough.
Our Covenant Keeping God
In this battle for your faith, reach your hands high in surrendered trust to the Father who holds you close in his embrace. Continue on in this journey of faith. Though you falter and fail, God will be faithful. His love for you is unconditional. God’s love for you is not dependent on your actions. He will remain faithful.
The new covenant that Jesus made on the cross with mankind and sealed with his blood is just as firm and reliable as the covenant God made with Abram those many years ago. He has pledged forgiveness of sins for each one that believes. Within the Scriptures there is contained a myriad of promises for each one that enters into this covenant with God.
“Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations.”
Deuteronomy 7:9
Consequently, it is with confidence that we can walk forward into what remains unseen. God will keep his covenant with you. At the end of the day, you too, can stand and say, “I know that you love me, miracle or not.”
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