If you are a Jesus follower, trying to grow in your "walk" (or life) with God, you know what it's like. Ups. Downs. Good stretches. Tough stretches. At times in sync with God; at times pulling in the opposite directions.
We see this pattern in the lives of those whose stories we find in the Bible. Noah, Moses, Samson, Saul, David, Peter...no one's tragectory with God was a straight-line north. Everyone who walks with God has a road with bumps and turns.
Still, the pattern of an honest heart, humble heart with God is generally "up." We've been born into God's family to steadily become more like God's Son.
WHAT ABOUT ABRAHAM (Genesis 12-22)?
In his letter to the Romans, Paul is bullish about Abraham's faith walk. In Romans 4:18-22, Paul describes it in glowing terms: "in hope against hope he believed...he grew strong in faith...never wavered...fully convinced God was able to do what he promised." It sounds wonderful.
Yet a more detailed reading of Abram/Abraham's biography shows there were a lot of "ups and downs" along the way. Genesis 12 is "up" - he leaves his homeland and comes to Canaan and begins to worship God. There there is a "down" as Abram goes to Egypt, struggling to trust God and driven by a bit of fear. Genesis 15 is "up" as he trusts God's promise and is given righteousness. Genesis 16 is "down" as he listens to Sarah and tries to fulfill God's promise through Hagar.
In other words, we see Abram with God's promises in hand and yet not always knowing how God was going to fulfill them and sometimes trying to do too much personally to make them happen.
Still, does this mean that Abraham's faith "wavered" or "diminished," or something else?
GOD'S ASSESSMENT OF ABRAHAM'S FAITH
My sense is that Abraham's trust in God to fulfill what was promised never wavered. Like ours, as he began his "walk" with God, he was young in his faith. Young faith is long on eagerness but sometimes short on perspective. Abraham surely wondered "how" God would fulfill his promises--and sometimes struggled as to what his own role was in the fulfillment--but stayed strong that God would do (somehow, someway) what He said.
It is interesting that both Isaiah (Is 64) and James (James 2) notes that God's assessment was simply this - "Abraham was My friend." This is a very informative desription. Throughout Abraham's life, God regarded this man-of-growing-faith as a growing friend. He discussed things with Abraham - like what to do with Sodom and Gomorrow (Genesis 19). God sensed He had a partner in this ancient Chaldean, and that friendship grew over time. Interestingly, you never hear God condemning Abraham for the missteps we read about in those chapters in Genesis. Abraham's faith steadily grew, even through times when he could have been more patient, more prayerful before plowing forward.
Kinda like us, right? Even in our struggles, God continues to grow our faith and our likeness to Jesus. The tragectory is always north...
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