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He walked by Faith

By Ruby Ramsey 

"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would afterword receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise, for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God." (Hebrews 11:8-10)

What would we have done if we were in Abraham's shoes? Sometimes it is not easy for us to move to another house, another town, much less to a foreign land. And if we move, we usually get a big truck and put all our earthly possessions in it and drive to our new abode. But Abraham had to walk or perhaps ride an animal. It was no small task to pack up and move a great distance. Abraham was a rich man (Genesis 13:2) and had much livestock, herdsmen, silver and gold. But no matter how difficult it was for him, he did exactly what God told him to do.

He and Sarah and his nephew, Lot, left to go on this journey. Lot also had flocks and herds and tents (Genesis 13 :1-5). As they traveled, they came to a place that was not able to support all of them. Abraham said to Lot: "Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go right; or if you go to the right, then I will go left." (Genesis 13:9). Of course, Lot took the fertile looking valley, and Abraham took the other path. (But that is another story).

It took a lot of faith for Abraham to start on this journey to a place he did not know, living in tents. He did not, however, question God. He didn't argue. He didn't complain. He obeyed the voice of God. He had faith in what God said and did. I believe the biggest test of his faith was when God told him to offer his son, Isaac, on the altar. (Genesis 22:2). That journey up Mt. Moriah had to be a terrible journey for Abraham. Still he trusted God. He got as far as binding his Isaac and laying him on the altar before an angel of the Lord stopped him. God knew how deep Abraham's faith was. Would our faith have been that deep? Would we have obeyed God by offering our son?

"But without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6)

"For we walk by faith and not sight." (2 Corinthians 5:7)

We must believe in God. We must believe that He can do anything. We must believe what His Word tells us, and that His promises hold true.  God does not lie. (Titus 1:2).

We can have faith in God knowing that our souls are safely in His hands. When we have faith, and do what the Bible says, we know God is pleased and will reward us. We must be like David who wrote in Psalm 111:1:

"I will praise the Lord with my whole heart..."