The Assurance of Things Hoped For

Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. I really wish I had the kind of faith that Abraham had. His story found in Genesis 12-25 makes it clear that his faithfulness was a huge part of who he was. As I was working on a writing assignment today about what characteristic I would most like to acquire from Abraham, his faithfulness is what stuck out to me the most.

There were many examples of when Abraham showed his faith without hesitation. For one, when God called him to leave his country, his family and loved ones, and everything that he knew behind to go to another place (God didn't even tell him what country at first), Abraham obeyed Him. That would be such a tough thing to do. To just go to to a completely foreign place and to establish a home there. He literally felt like a stranger in Canaan. Secondly, Abraham agreed to circumcision as a sign of God's covenant, even though back then it was a very painful and not easily forgotten process. Probably the greatest demonstration of faith was when Abraham was willing to sacrifice his own son for the will of God. Think about it..how much faith does it really take to obey God even when it involves the possibility of losing a loved one? If that isn't faithfulness, I don't know what is... 

Not only is the faith of Abraham mentioned in Genesis, it is also brought up in a few other books of the Bible. For instance, in both Romans 4 and James 2:21-24 Abraham is used as an example of what a faithful person should look like. God even compared Abraham's faith to righteousness! That right there is huge. Hebrews 11 also mentions that Abraham lived his life by faith. 

Abraham's attribute of faithfulness is a characteristic that I would absolutely love to acquire. If I had the kind of faith that Abraham had, I wouldn't have half as many moments of bewildering despair and uncertainty that I do now. Faith is a quality that I yearn and desire for every single day. 

Faith definitely isn't an easy or natural characteristic to acquire. It doesn't come from hard work or diligent studying. Faith is a quality that comes directly from God. No, faith is not easy, but sometimes I wonder why it isn't. I mean, shouldn't it be? Really, why is it so hard to be faithful when God has given us reasons to trust Him time and time again? He has shown us that he never goes back on His promises. And yet, so many of us doubt him over and over again. I don't get it. We see signs of God's existence every single day. Romans 1:20 says that we are without excuse to not have at least some sort of an idea that God exists, for his invisible attributes have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. 

My hope is that God will give each of us a little bit more faith daily. My hope is that we as Christians will ask God for endless faith so that we will trust in things unseen even when life gets hard. My hope is that this hope of mine will remain in faith.