This summer, I have been reading through
Romans. It has been a slow process, but a much needed one. Romans seems to
answer all my questions and comfort me with the truths of the Gospel. I
recently got a new Bible where I have room to write on the sides of each page,
a glorious thing for me, as I love to write notes as I read. I have been going
through my previous Bible and transferring over some of my past notes that I
wanted in this new Bible. Today, I was transferring notes from Romans and came
across Romans 4. I think in the past I have kind of skipped over this chapter.
I mean I have read it, but I never really processed it all. As I was reading, I
also pulled out my Message Bible to help me better comprehend the chapter. Oh
man did that open my eyes. Abraham is an incredible man with an even more
incredible faith. In Romans 4:1-3, he trusts in God to set him right instead of
trying to be right on his own. Abraham relied on his belief in God, rather than
in his works for he knew that he could not boast about his works before God.
Abraham is justified by faith. He is fully satisfied in God rather than in his
works.
In the Message Bible, verse 16 says, “This is
why the fulfillment of God’s promise depends entirely on trusting God and His
way, and then simply embracing Him and what He does.” Trusting God has never
really been issue for me. I mean every now and then I have my doubts, but who
doesn’t? Embracing what He does in my life has been and is my constant
weakness. There have been so many times in my life where I have just not
understood why God has done what He has done. And I get so frustrated. I trust
and then I completely abandon that trust when something doesn’t go my way. But
oh how glad I am that things don’t go my way. As much as I wish I knew what was
good for me, I haven’t the slightest idea. I cannot even begin to imagine how
different my life would be right now had everything gone the way I planned it
too. And that is why the embrace is so important. In the good and the bad,
embrace what God is doing in your life. He wants what is best for us because He
loves YOU more than you can ever imagine. And maybe right now you can’t see
that. Maybe right now your life is just not where you want it to be. But that
is the beauty of it. You can only see what is right in front of you. God sees
the whole picture. He knows what comes next, He knows that whatever you’re
going through right now is only leading you to something better. So trust Him.
And embrace Him and what He does, no matter where it takes you in life.
The second half of this chapter, which is
where verse 16 is found, is labeled “The Promise Realized Through Faith” in my
Bible. As I read through this part of the chapter, I was in awe of how much
trust Abraham had in God. Verses 19-20 says, “He did not weaken in faith when
he considered his own body, which was as good as dead, or when he considered
the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the
promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.”
Abraham continued to trust in God to make him a father even though he knew that
he could never do it himself. Abraham lived a life where instead of seeing what
he couldn’t do, he saw what God could do. And that in itself is one of the most
incredible things I have ever read. Instead of looking at all the things that
Abraham knew he could not accomplish, he looked at everything that God could
accomplish. And “For nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37) He saw the
glass half full all the time.
I think about how this could affect my daily
life, having the mindset of Abraham. Where instead of looking at a problem and
saying, “this cannot be done, I cannot do this”; I say, “I may not be able to
do this, but my God can.” How powerful, comforting, and reassuring is that? To
know that even though you may not be able to do something, God can do it.
Take comfort in knowing that God can do the
impossible. He can do the impossible for you. Because He loves you so much and
wants the best for you. So be like Abraham today and all the days after. Don’t
look at what you cannot do, but rather what God can do. Have faith that can
move mountains. Glorify God through that faith. Be fully convinced that God can
do the impossible. And watch how your life changes day by day, moment by
moment. And then, simply embrace God and everything He is doing in your life.
