It is easy for us to get tired waiting for God. This devotional reading looks at how Abram began to question God’s promises because they hinged on one thing — the son he didn’t yet have.
Nuggets
- God knew that Abram was right – all the promised blessing hinged on Abram having a son.
- Abram didn’t have any children yet, but God said he would have as many descendants as the stars.
We get that Abram was faithful. He was obedient.
But every once in a while, Abram would start to doubt. He would start to question.
God, You promised. So, what are you waiting for?
God is okay with that — provided the faith and the obedience doesn’t stop.
Let's Put It into Context
To read devotions in the Creating Everything theme, click the button below.
Devotions in the Abraham the Patriarch series
Promise of a Son
“Then the Lord said to him, ‘No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir’” (Gen. 15: 4 NLT)
God knew that Abram was right – all the promised blessing hinged on Abram having a son.
Remember back to Abram’s call in Genesis 12. All Abram was asked to do was move. God promised blessings if he obeyed.
- I will make you a nation (Gen. 12: 2).
- I will bless you (Gen. 12: 2).
- I will make your name great (Gen. 12: 2).
- I will bless those who bless you, curse those who curse you (Gen. 12: 3).
- All will be blessed through you (Gen. 12: 3).
Before, God promised blessings. What God had offered Abram now was Himself.
God really didn’t elaborate on make a nation as Abram having kids — or specifically kid singular. But Abram was saying, “What good would any other blessing be if I don’t have a son?”
Abram only wanted to know. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe. He only needed a little reassurance.
We have to watch as we question God. Mary questioned Him, and it was fine. Zechariah questioned Him, and he was punished.
God answered Abram’s whine. He said, “Have faith. You are going to have a son.”
I like what Davis said. He wrote, “The blessing faith asks for and receives today is the type of a richer one tomorrow. To Abram, childless, wandering in a strange land, the highest imagined good was a son and a home. These God promised.”
Resource
Davis showed how important what God was promising to Abram was. God was just asking Abram to wait for His timing, not Abram’s.
We want things when we want them. We are not good at waiting.
No, we don’t know why God asked Abram to wait for a son. But we do know one thing. “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Rom. 8: 28 NLT).
God had his reasons. Maybe Abram knew them. Maybe he didn’t.
We aren’t always told why. We are told to obey anyway. Abram did.
Light and Life
“Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, ‘Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!’ And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith” (Gen. 15: 5-6 NLT)
Abram didn’t have any children yet, but God said he would have as many descendants as the stars.
Think about it. Here was this possibly despondent man. It definitely sounds like he was frustrated.
God told him, “You may not hear pitter patter of little steps right now, but eventually you are going to have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky.”
Magee pointed out the connection of verses 5 and 6. They talk of life and light.
We can usually see both of those in verse 5. Sky is the light. Descendants are life.
But verse 5 tells us to look up to the Light — Jesus. Verse 6 says that faith means life.
But let’s look into this more deeply. “And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (Gen. 15: 6 ESV).
This showed Abram’s salvation experience. Yes, he not only obeyed, but he also believed.
Oh, Abram may have had a salvation experience before this. Probably did and it wasn’t recorded by Moses. We aren’t told until now.
(This is really important for when we get to the next discussion of the covenant in Genesis 17.)
What is salvation? “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” (Eph. 2: 8-9 NLT).
What does believe mean? I have to check out Parker’s definition. He wrote,
“‘Believed’ means supported, sustained, strengthened; Abram nourished and nurtured himself in God; Abram hid his life and his future in this promise, as a child might hide or nestle in a mother’s breast. That is faith.”
Resource
Sustained and fed by God. How are we fed by God? We seek Him.
Searching for and Seeking God
Non-believers search for God.
Disciples seek Him.
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17)
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3)
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16)
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11)
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2)
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11)
Believing is having faith. That faith is in God — in Himself as well as His Plan of Salvation.
God called, Abram believed — even the impossible — and he walked with God and obeyed.
God said, “This is what I am going to do.” Abram said, “I believe You. You are going to do it some time in the future. I’m good with that.”
God called Abram righteous. He wasn’t righteous until God called him so.
If there was no faith — even if there was obedience — there would be no righteousness. Obedience is a product of faith, not the cause or a substitute.
Righteousness isn’t based on works. It is based on an entire surrender to God. It comes through mercy and grace.
Counted is an interesting word. Until righteousness was counted, Abram wasn’t regarded as righteous. He didn’t possess that quality.
No, we are not righteous on our own.
God accepted Abram for righteousness.
Magee told us why faith is counted as righteousness. He wrote,
“Because, as all sin lies folded in one thought of distrust, so in one thought of trust lies all possible righteousness — its patience, its hope, its heroism, its endurance, its saintliness; and therefore He who sees the end from the beginning reckons it as righteousness.”
Resource
We can’t do anything about our sin. Only Jesus’ blood can.
Making the Connections #1
I love what Magee said. He wrote, “His faith was no intellectual assent to a demonstrated proposition; it was the trust of the heart in the voice of God. It was the belief, not that solves difficulties, but that rises above them.”
Resource
It didn’t have anything to do with our intellect. Yes, we may have to do a little processing, but no, we don’t have to understand.
Abram got that.
Making the Connections #2
In the last devotion, we talked about Abram being the first to have the full religious equipment. This included a relationship, worship, duty, principle, and faith.
But how did this compare to Noah?
Each were called righteous – Noah in Genesis 6: 9, and Abram in Genesis 15: 6.
Noah was obedient. He built the ark.
Abram, on the other hand, was credited with faith and obedience. He was said to have believed.
Nowhere in the flood story did it say Noah believed. It was stressed several times that he was obedient.
While we see both as models as faith, Noah’s faith was based on survival. Abram had a deeper relationship with God.
That is what God is all about – building a relationship with us.
Can we be like Noah and just have the obedience? No.
Can we be like Abram and have the faith but maybe not so much the obedience? No.
Obedience is the product of faith.
Making the Connections #3
I have to think about what Murphy said. He wrote,
“That in him which is counted for righteousness is faith in Jehovah promising mercy. In the absence of righteousness this is the only thing in the sinner that can be counted for righteousness.”
Resource
Faith must be a component of righteousness. The foundation of faith is belief – but it has to be more than mere belief.
We can believe in God and not obey Him. Even the demons believe in God (Jas. 2: 19). They definitely don’t obey Him!
We have to add trust to the mix. We have to have enough faith to obey His laws and commandments. We don’t do that for gain. We obey because of our deep relationship with God.
Obeying doesn’t make us righteous. But it allows us to be counted for righteousness –accepted by God for righteousness.
Making the Connections #4
Have you ever wondered if the Old Testament Hall of Famers were really saved since they came before Jesus finished the Plan of Salvation? Wonder no more!
Fuller explained it. He wrote,
“To establish the doctrine of justification by the righteousness of Christ, it is not necessary to maintain that the faith of Abram means Christ in whom he believed. … The truth appears to be this: It is faith, or believing, that is counted for righteousness; not, however, as a righteous act, or on account of any inherent virtue contained in it, but in respect of Christ, on whose righteousness it terminates
Resource
Duh! “… Believe in God; believe also in me” (Jn. 14: 1 ESV).
Truly believing in God was always enough for them when it produced faith and obedience.
- Abram had to believe in order to leave Ur, but this wasn’t to be the model of justification. Only those instances in which there was direct regard for the person of the Messiah were considered relevant.
- Their faith had to point to Christ – and Abram’s did as Christ was his descendant.
- Because of this, God could enter into a covenant agreement with Abram.
- Yes, Jesus saves us, but it is through our faith that He can. Healing cannot occur without faith.
How Do We Apply This?
- Have belief, faith, trust, and obedience.
- Patiently wait.
Father God. Everything works in the fullness of Your time. Forgive us when we wish You would follow our tine. Come to us when we doubt — but may our faith and obedience always remain solid. Amen.
What do you think?
Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
If you don’t understand something and would like further clarification, please contact me.
If you have not signed up for the email providing the link to the devotions and the newsletter, do so below.
If God has used this devotion to speak with you, consider sharing it on social media.