Faith Is Trusting When Your Circumstances Are Bad

in
 

Romans 4:13-25

13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.

16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

 
 

Paul wants his readers to understand that God’s promise to Abraham came before the Law was given to Israel, which means the promise does not depend on the keeping of the Law. Rather, it depends on faith.

Faith is not believing in the miraculous—Jesus walking on water, e.g.— faith is trusting God when the circumstances around you are bad. God told Abraham that he would give Abraham and Sarah a child, despite the fact that they were very old. To his credit, Abraham trusted that God would fulfill that promise. In the same way, we trust that the Father will save us through Jesus. Abraham is our great ancestor in the faith because of how he trusted God.

Faith is trusting God when the circumstances around you are bad.

How will you need to exercise faith today?