May 25, 2011
“When God made his promise to Abraham, he backed it to the hilt, putting his own reputation on the line. He said; “I promise that I’ll bless you with everything I have — bless and bless and bless!” Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him.” Hebrews 6:13-14 The Message
When God makes a promise …?
Abraham made a choice to trust God even though everything around him was unfinished. His life was old. His marriage was old. His desert wandering faith was old. But he decided to trust God. He tried shortcuts but they didn’t work. He chose to trust God .. the One who promised him an earth filling family. He formed a faith out of God’s promise. He could have walked away and just made life work on his own. In the face of unfinished hopes and dreams he believed that God would keep His promise. Abraham did all that without knowing if his life would end up complete. He placed everything on trusting God. He would have traded everything he owned to walk one day in your shoes knowing Jesus and his indwelling life. You make choices everyday .. some intentionally and others unintentionally. It takes time .. a moment really .. to embrace Jesus in fresh faith and love today. Any number of distractions good or bad will seek to pull you away from having a moment to place your life-conditions before the Promised One and facing this day with hope. You don’t make up your own hope. It’s a gift of God’s grace .. His own reputation on the line for you .. His promise of blessing that stretches from Abraham through Jesus to you. It’s yours to trust or not to trust. When you say “I believe” you’re making margin in your life for God to fill up your heart and mind with his abiding peace while you step out into a world filled with hopeless conditions. You may try the same shortcuts that Abraham tried. They won’t work either. But God isn’t letting go because He’s promised to bless your life in Christ. In the midst of hopeless situations .. He’s got a good track record. He has to: His reputation is on the line for you. What will you embrace today? Who will you trust? It only takes a moment …
“But it’s not just Abraham; it’s also us! The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the one who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God.” Romans 4:23-25 The Message
Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent M-F to Abraham’s Kids following Jesus and friends of Priority One (ken@priorityone.org)
