I read this today:
Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. – Romans 4:20-22 NLT
What an amazingly different perspective than a lot of Christ followers have today, myself included.
It says that Abraham didn’t waver in believing God’s promise. I don’t know about everybody else, but sometimes I’m asking God what have you promised me? When I realize what the promise is, I’m asking well where is it?
I typically want the promise right in the moment. Forget the process, forget patience, I want the promise. And when it doesn’t happen when I want it to I start to wonder if I heard God correctly. I even wonder if God remembers that He promised something to me.
Not only did Abraham not waver. His faith grew stronger and he brought glory to God by that! He was convinced that God could do anything, especially remain faithful in His promises.
So I have a thought… What if God gives us the promise in order to empower us through the process of patient waiting? What if He promises the job, or the baby, or the healing because the process before the promise is what’s most necessary?
The process of faith means you have to process your faith. And sometimes before you can get to the promise you have to go through the process.
Abraham waited for a long time. But while he waited his faith had a chance to process. Joseph didn’t become a leader overnight. There was a process. The Israelites didn’t just go to bed and wake up in the promised land. There was a process. Jesus didn’t just live and go to Heaven for our salvation. There was death and resurrection. There was a process.
The process is where we are refined and God is glorified. The promise is where we are reminded of God’s eternal faithfulness. We can’t overlook or underestimate the process. It is God’s provision during the process that makes the promise so promising.