Romans 4 Devotional Sharing by Kelly Kang (Gracepoint – Berkeley):

Romans 4:19-22

18Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 19Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Once again, I’m so amazed by Abraham’s faith.  Although the odds were stacked against him, he chose to “not waver through unbelief.”  He was not engaged in foolish optimism.  He “faced the fact that his body was as good as dead.”  And he chose to be “strengthened in his faith” and to be “persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”

This kind of faith is so rare.  Even during Jesus’ times, faith was so rare despite all the miracles that Jesus performed.  Jesus complemented only to two people for their great faith – the centurion in Matt 10 and the Canaanite woman in Matt 15.

In ministry I have encountered people who seem to ignore God’s word and persist in unbelief.  Although the Bible is very clear that God loves them unconditionally (Romans 5:6-8), they cannot believe that God loves them.  Although the Bible is very clear that their sins have been forgiven (1 John 1:9), they cannot believe that they are forgiven.  Although the Bible is very clear that they are a new creation and therefore they do not need to allow their past to haunt them and make them feel worthless (2 Corinthians 5:17), people choose to continue in their sense of worthlessness.   Although the Bible is very clear that God wants to use them to show all surpassing power from God  (2 Cor 4:7), they doubt that God can ever use them.

Trying to reassure people like this can be pretty frustrating.  It seems that they are bent on thinking in a certain way regardless of the word of God or living examples of people who embody the truth. They choose to not believe.  Of course I understand and I do sympathize with them as I know that many people have all sorts of reasons for such unbelief. They have been hurt and lied to and trust is something that’s hard to come by.

So, what’s the solution for cultivating Abraham like faith?  It’s a choice.  I just have to choose to believe.  The solution sounds too obvious and simple and yet it works.  My experience repeatedly shows me that when I choose  to believe, something wonderful happens.  The word of God comes alive and it provides strength.  I actually get strengthened!  It’s more than positive thinking or optimism.  It’s as if my choice to believe is the mechanism that releases God’s power to strengthen my FAITH.

There have been so many times in my life where I felt like I couldn’t go on as I face some difficult situation in ministry.  During those times, I refuse to believe in my feeling that I am all alone in this cold universe facing this difficult situation.  Instead, I choose to cling unto passages like Matthew 11:28-30, Matthew 28:20 as well as numerous other passages in the Bible.  Of course this is not as easy as it sounds.  My feelings often feel so much more powerful and real than God’s promises.  So, I have to push my feelings out with prayer and I have to labor at clinging unto God’s promises.  It almost feels like a battle but when I do, the word of God proves to be powerful enough to overcome my feelings and I get “persuaded that God [has] power to do what he had promised.”