Embrace God and What He Does

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.