Focus: Unshakable Faith

Text: Rom.4:20

"He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God."

Abraham did not stagger at the promise of God through unbelief. What does that tell us? It means that unbelief is the reason why we stagger or stumble at the promise of God. If you find it hard believing in the promises of God, then unbelief is the reason for it. The promises of God give us a sense of hope, and our hope is built on the bedrock of God's character. I often use the word 'hope' as an acronym for the elements of God's character, and here they are:

*Holiness of God

God's holiness makes it impossible for God to lie, deceive, or change. He never reneges on His word or promise.

*Oath of God

The oath of God makes it impossible for Him to break His promise. His word is His bond. On top of having made us a promise, He has sworn an oath to stand by His word. He never goes back on His covenant promise and oath. He promises and swears to do as He has said.

*Power of God

The power of God makes it absolutely impossible for God to fail in keeping His word. He has infinite power. He has creative power. He possesses resurrection power. He is in possession of curative powers. God's power is absolute, limitless and incredible.

*Excellence of God

The glory of God is one reason God will not alter His word. Every time God makes a promise to us, His excellence or glory is at stake. God will never allow His excellent name to be tarnished.

The promises of God rest on the character or integrity of God. Faith is rooted in the promises of God. Peter says, "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2Pet.1:4).

Abraham's faith rested on the promises of God. He refused to waver in his faith. His faith was unwavering, unflinching and unshakable. The Message Bible says, "Abraham didn't focus on his own impotence and say, "It's hopeless. This hundred-year old body could never father a child." Nor did he survey Sarah's decades of infertility and give up. He didn't tiptoe around God's promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what He had said."

Abraham saw God as the all-powerful one. He believed that God had all it took to keep His word. He rested on the truth that God possesses explosive energy.

A proverb has it that facts are stubborn things, but for Abraham, they are conquerable by the powerful truth of God. Another proverb says that "the promise of a good man becomes a legal obligation." Indeed God's promises are binding on God's holy character. The promises of God make us confidently and assuredly hopeful.

Let us walk in the steps of Abraham's faith! Let us not stagger or waver in unbelief. Let us refuse to be shaken in our faith! Let us press on and persevere in our faith! God is incredibly capable of doing what He says.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter