18 [For Abraham, human reason for] hope being gone, hoped in faith that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been promised, So [numberless] shall your descendants be. [Gen. 15:5.]
19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered the [utter] impotence of his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or [when he considered] the barrenness of Sarah’s [deadened] womb. [Gen. 17:17; 18:11.]
About 2 years ago my wife and I began the search for a new house. We had certain needs for a house that had to be met. One of the needs had to be at least 5 acres of land (I wanted to build some mountain bike trails), another was a house big enough where the basement would be large enough for a 2 bedroom apartment for my mother who would be moving in with us. Thirdly a location not far from my wife's work. This really narrowed down the number of homes that were available, but we were praying that God would lead us to the right house and we were standing in prayer and faith. We found a house at the very beginning of our search, but it didn't work out. About a month later another house came on the market, but it was well above our budget. However my wife wanted to check it out. (Men, always listen to your wives, remember, they are a gift from God). So we checked it out and it fit every one of our needs...except for the price. We made an offer that was below our budget and it was accepted. As we were getting close to the end of the due diligence period, one major thing came up, and then another until both of us decided to terminate the offer. We began losing hope that we would find a house for all of us. In fact, I was getting rather frustrated with the whole process that I didn't even want to look at other homes...and my wife was feeling the same way.
Sometimes, in fact, I would say most of the time, when things don't go our way, or don't go fast enough for us, we lose hope and we give up. Unfortunately, in all of those cases, we give up WAY too early. Abraham had every right to give up, the man was 100 years old, fatherless...and Sarah was no spring chicken either. However, Abraham didn't lose hope, because he knew he had a BIG God! He knew the God of the impossible and improbable, and that even though he was 100 years old, he believed God's promises that he would be the father of many nations...and he held on to this hope.
The evening that we terminated the offer, the seller came back and asked what they could do to make the deal go through. We prayed, repented for giving up on God, and now we have been in that house for almost 2 years.
Circumstances are irrelevant to God, He can do anything. I encourage you to not give up too early, even when the odds are not in your favor. Remember what He did for Abraham and Sarah, and remember their God and your God are the same! What He did for them, He can do for you!
No comments:
Post a Comment