WHEN I’VE GIVEN UP!
And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:6
Abraham believed God for what he didn’t have (an heir and descendants), for what he could never have without a gift from God himself. That’s called faith. God was so overjoyed by Abram’s faith that he declared him righteous on the spot. God made it as though Abram lived on the other side of the death of Christ and was wearing Christ’s righteousness. No one but Abram in all of history, prior to the cross, was justified and declared righteous. They rest of God’s followers made continual sacrifices to cover their sins but their sins weren’t removed from them until Christ died.
This tells me, through story form, how much God prizes faith. Am I believing God today for something I don’t have, for something I could never have without a gift from God’s hand? Have I put everything on the line – waiting for God to move? That is how faith looks.
When I embraced Jesus as my Savior, I believed that He would forgive me and adopt me as His own. These were things I couldn’t earn nor accomplish in any way for myself. I laid everything on the line for what God promised to do for me. That was my first great act of faith. But my life is to be marked by daily acts of faith, incredulous acts of faith. It’s tragic when I enter the kingdom by faith only to live the rest of my life in control of everything. No faith required. I miss out on miracles, passion, and amazement!
God has rigged my life so that I would learn how to live by faith. He has, through the fallen choices of others, afflicted me in ways that my survival is dependent on Him only. I have been brought, and am being brought often, to the end of myself. I must declare things hopeless without the move of God. If I don’t have faith, I have nothing and will certainly live in despair.
It was the mid-90’s when I put everything on the line. I gave up on life and shut down. It was a pivotal point as things crumbled all around me. I could take my life, or curl up in a ball and live with a deadened heart, or cast my life upon Jesus and cry out for what I would never have without His intervention. I’m so glad I made the third choice.
If you’ve ever been to a Daughters of Promise Event, or a Prayer Mapping Event, you have heard me tell one story after another of God breaking through the fog of resignation and unbelief with one stunning miracle after another. It’s not because I deserved it. I didn’t. It’s just that I serve a God who rewards faith! I defend the character of a God who loves to do the impossible.
I look again at my life this morning. Where do things look hopeless? Where have I languished for a lifetime thinking that nothing could ever change? This is where faith is born. I take my unbelief, speak God’s words over my dark soul, and cast all my hopes on Christ. God is so pleased over unwavering faith that He greatly rewards it with one breakthrough after another. Oh, how I wish we could share one-on-one today.
Faith is not rational. It appears ludicrous to anyone watching. That’s okay, Jesus. Faith is a supernatural thing, fed on the diet of Your Word and Your grace. Amen.
For more from Christine Wyrtzen and Jaime Wyrtzen Lauze, please visit www.daughtersofpromise.org
Originally published Wednesday, 25 May 2016.
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