Home »
May the faithfulness of God cause your faith to arise as you meditate upon His promise – May the Lord bless thee from Zion; And may you see the peace of Jerusalem All the days of your life. [Psalms 128:5] There is a wondrous connection between the blessing of God and His calling. He has lavished His love upon you that you may be called His child. The channel of His love is the Holy Spirit who dwells in you when Christ is your Savior and Lord. He authenticates in you, your identity as a child of God, to also produce in you a transformation in your character, to be conformed to the image of the Son of God. Your responsibility lies in responding to His call in willing submission, to be led to the next level of seeking His help that He may teach you, giving you understanding of His plan for you. It was what lay behind Abraham’s query of ‘How will I know?’ and the question that was very relevant in its context, ‘How is this possible?’, that Mary asked of the angel. [Luke 1:34] It was to this that the angel replied with this profound and all-encompassing truth, that had Mary’s answering response of acceptance in humility built into it, saying, ‘For nothing will be impossible with God’. And Mary said, ‘Behold I am the servant of the Lord. Be it unto me according to your word’. And the angel departed from her. [Verses 37,38] Today, you can say in the place of Mary, ‘Behold, I am a child of God; be it unto me according to your word’, to receive the promise of God that comes to you, in a situation that may seem impossible. And it is receiving and personalizing it with an attitude of humility that paves the way for it to be imbibed into your system and accomplish the purpose for which it has come to you from God.
Be it unto me:
The medicine that the doctor prescribes to you when you become unwell, cannot take effect and bring about healing when it is lying in your hand. It needs to be imbibed by you and become part of your system. Only then can it bring about the desired change in you, to make you well once more physically. And as it is written in the scriptures, the word of God is the medicine that can bring healing to all your flesh, your spirit, soul and body. But it works in such a manner, not when it remains in your hand, but only when it is imbibed, personalized by you, to become part of your being. It is what Mary did as she received the seed of God’s word of promise that came to her through the angel of God. And the impossible became possible, as a fruit of it. Unfortunately, in the case of the Israelites to whom the promise of God came, about experiencing rest in the land of Canaan, the good news did not do them any good. They perished in the wilderness, for they did not combine it with faith. [Hebrews 4:1,2] Only two entered into it; and today if it were so, it needs to be you and I!
Listening with faith:
It is a leaning on Him of your entire personality, throwing your entire weight on Him in trust and confidence. It is then that you can experience the promise of His rest. Sadly, it was not the story of the people of Israel, for they kept complaining, as they leaned on their own strength and understanding. But one ought to learn to lean on the power of God and not on one’s own strength, for the fulfillment of His promise to you. It is what the life of Abraham, whose descendants you and I are by faith teaches. He believed in the promise of God to him, of a son of promise, by whom his descendants would be as the stars in the heavens. But he also faced the fact that his reality was very much to the contrary, for he and his wife were past the age of child bearing, when looked at in worldly terms.
Abraham faced the facts:
But he remained strong in his faith. He was not into a denial mode, refusing to acknowledge the impossibility of his situation, when considered in normal, human terms. 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’. 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. [Romans 4:18,19] And it is where God’s word shows you the way, through the challenge that king Jehoshaphat faced as a company of armies came against him. But facing the fact that his army was hopelessly outnumbered, he did not grow weak in his faith. For, acknowledging his inability he turned to the Lord, asking for His counsel. And he was led to a miraculous victory over the enemy, ‘The battle is mine’, was the promise of the Lord. [2 Chronicles 20:15] And it was accomplished in His power, giving the king who did not lean on his own understanding, the privilege of being part of a glorious victory. When you look to God in the midst of your problem, you are looking in the right direction! For surely, as the psalmist has said, the faces of those who look to Him are radiant. [Psalms 34:5]
Abraham did not waver through unbelief:
No distrust in him made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith, as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised. [Romans 4:20,21] You and I also encounter doubts in our walk of faith. Elijah was human just like us, the bible clearly records. John the Baptist, who identified the Lamb of God, later on, had his own doubts. For Abraham too it was not a doubt free journey. At one point, as he was growing older and older, hand there was no sign of the birth of the son of promise, his prayer on account of his unbelief was, ‘Oh, that Ishmael might live before you’. [Genesis 17:18] But in summary, the bible describes him as not wavering in unbelief.
HIS promise, HIS power and your privilege:
Thoughts that bring doubt in you, invariably arise. But, it is how you deal with such thoughts that matters. You are still a child of God, and you do not have to linger in your doubt, but deal with it as Abraham did Being fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised [Romans 4:21] Abraham could overcome his doubts by dwelling upon the truth that it was all about God- His promise, His power, and regarding his own self, his privilege. And so it is even in your life. Yes, things could be very painfully different from what He has promised you. But, it is His promise in His power, the experience of which is your privilege! And when you know that you have a heavenly Father, the Master of all creation, has lavished His love upon you to call you His child, every doubt will certainly flee. It is leaning on your own strength that can put you under pressure, and weaken you. But to the awesome God, for whom nothing is impossible, it is a pleasure to bless you, to give you what is good. And as you give thanks unto the Father, for His loving presence, His awesome word, and the privilege of being called His child, may the blessing of His rest, help you to be still and know that He is God. In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
