One of my favorite scripture passages is Romans 4:18-21. Although God had promised Abraham a son from Sarah’s womb, it took 20 years before Abraham saw the fulfillment. What is so special about this scripture in Romans is that Paul uses Abraham as an example to us of one who believed in spite of the way things appeared.
It says in 4:18: “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed…” Also verse 19 says “without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead…yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God.”
So, even though the promise took twenty years to come to fulfillment, Abraham–instead of growing weak in faith–grew strong and gave glory to God! What is our natural tendency when we don’t experience answered prayer right away or within an “acceptable” timeframe?
We often lose heart or give up declaring God hasn’t answered us. What an example Abraham is to us. He never let go of the promise and the more time that elapsed the stronger his faith became!
May we also learn from him and allow God to also strengthen us to believe in spite of the circumstances. We can all personally attest to God’s faithfulness, and His perfect timing in many circumstances of life we have faced. God sees far beyond the natural realm and His plans and purposes in our live reach far beyond what our natural eyes can see.
The next time you are standing in faith concerning a matter, ask God to give you the faith of Abraham. God wants to take us to greater heights of faith in Him. Are you ready to meet the challenge?