Focus: Sound And Solid Faith

Text: Rom.4:19

"And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb."

Sick faith is really sickening! Faith that focuses on facts as diametrically opposed to the truth of God's word is feeble. The word 'weak' in our text is translated in the New Testament as 'weak, sick, disease, impotent, or feeble.' How can one survive the negativity in one's life with an impotent or powerless faith? Can you imagine suffering from the virus of a sick or diseased faith? The virus of a sick faith is very infectious. Abraham, in the face of a physical limitation or impossibility, refused to let his faith become infected with the virus of a feeble faith. His faith was sound and solid.

The impossibilities we see in our lives, if allowed, have the potency to inject us with the virus of a weak faith.

The word 'consider' is 'katanoeo' in the Greek, and it means, 'to fully observe, to clearly perceive, to closely behold, to fully understand, or to thoroughly consider and discover.' 

Weak faith takes so much time to analyze and figure out how things are going to pan out in the end, but in the process of trying to understand things, it suffers from the paralysis of analysis.

Abraham knew there were facts of science concerning his body and that of his wife that totally disagree with God's promise of a seed, but he decided to bank solely on God's word.

In verse 17, we see that God possesses resurrection power, and by it He raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Paul says, "But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Rom.8:11). Dead body or womb is not a big deal to the resurrection power of God. So why worry over what your God can handle? Why waste time trying to figure out what is beyond your tiny brain? You can't fathom a situation that is humanly impossible.

Weak faith bows at the shrine of empty analysis, and it results in a moral, mental and emotional paralysis. Abraham refused to dwell on the negative facts, knowing that they were subject to change in a matter of time.

The word of God changes physical circumstances. The facts of your life will ultimately surrender to the truth of God's word. It is just a matter of time.

Abraham paid no attention to the odds against the word of God. He knew the naked and odd facts of their situation, he and his wife. Sarah's womb was dead and her physical energy gone. Abraham's body was no longer active sexually. He knew the facts but refused to dwell on them. Let me put it another way, Abraham counted the pros and cons, and weighed his contrary conditions on one side of the scale, and the promise of God on the other side of the scale, and discovered that there was greater weight on the side of God to lean on than on the other side of human logic. He looked closely at his condition and the promise of God, and concluded it was best for him to disregard his odds and embrace the word of God as being true, authoritative, infallible, operative and effective. Abraham had full trust in God and held onto the truth that God was infinitely able to do as He had promised.

Where faith is concerned, truth always prevails over facts in all its forms. Abraham saw no point or logic in trying to fathom the unfathomable. For him, it made better sense relying on the integrity of God and the infallibility of His word than focusing his mental energy on how God was going to overcome the odds. The Message Bible says that Abraham decided "to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said he would do."

Let me say to you with all the authority and audacity of God that God is never frightened nor ever intimidated by the odd facts in our lives. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, "Faith is holding on to the faithfulness of God… Faith does not look at the difficulties. Faith does not even look at itself… Faith always glorifies God." In other words, faith doesn't get distracted by the obstacles in our lives because its eyes are firmly fixed on God, who is its source, sustainer and goal.

God's word is the cure for a diseased faith. Focusing on God changes how you feel about what's going on in your life. What you are constantly, continuously and consistently looking at determines either the forcefulness or the feebleness of your faith.

If you are operating on the level of a diseased faith, then change your focus! Peter started sinking the moment he focused on the boisterous storm. He took his eyes off Christ. Your faith recovers energy by focusing on the sure word of God. Redirect your feeling by refocusing on God's word! Recover your energy by fixing your attention or gaze on the almighty God, the promise-maker and promise-keeper!

The believer is never weakened by the exercise of his faith, but by his continuous preoccupation with how things appear on the physical or material plane. It's about time you developed a sound, solid and robust faith through exercise and patience.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter