We oftentimes underestimate how much the Lord affirms and rewards our faith and trust in Him. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6: “It is impossible to please God without faith” and “God . . . rewards those who sincerely seek Him.” The Lord is always delighted and pleased by our faith. He loves it when we put our complete faith and trust in Him, and is committed to affirming and rewarding our belief in Him.

Abraham is a case in point. Abraham had a life carved out for himself in a place called Haran. But at 75 years of age, he left Haran and followed the leading of the Lord to leave behind his relatives, reputation and many of his resources, and moved to a land he’d never seen before, the land of Canaan. The Lord told him in response to his faith in Genesis 12:2: “I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others.” And the Lord kept His promise to Abraham. The Lord blessed his resources and made him a wealthy man. The Lord also blessed Abraham with children, and his son, Isaac, became the leader of a great nation. The Lord made Abraham famous just as He said He would do. Today Abraham is revered by the adherents of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, and known as the “friend of God.” Finally, the Lord also blessed Abraham spiritually by declaring Abraham to be “righteous” in the Lord’s eyes. “For the Scriptures tell us, ‘Abraham believed God, so God declared him to be righteous’” (Romans 4:3) “Righteous” means to be in “right standing” with God. As a result of his faith in the Lord, the Lord blessed Abraham in every way. Let me say again that the Lord is always pleased with our faith, and is committed to affirming and rewarding our belief in Him!

The fact that Abraham was the “father of faith”, however, does not mean that Abraham trusted God one hundred percent of the time. There were times in Abraham’s life when he lived in fear rather than by faith. We find twice in the Scriptures that he was fearful of being harmed by another ruler (who perhaps would want beautiful Sarah for himself), and therefore Abraham introduced Sarah as his sister rather than his wife (Genesis 12:10-20, 20:1-18). There were times when Abraham questioned the Lord as to whether or not he would have a legitimate heir who would fulfill the promises the Lord had made to him (Genesis 15:1-21, Genesis 17:1-21). Yet for the majority of time, Abraham maintained his faith and trust in the Lord, and there were times when he demonstrated exceptional belief in the Lord (Genesis 22:1-19).

If you are struggling with belief in the Lord today renew your faith and confidence by: 1) Recognizing unbelief in your life; 2) Remembering the Lord’s provision and protection in times past and His promises for the future; 3) Repent of the unbelief; 4) Recommit to trust the Lord at all times; and 5) Resume a daily “faith-walk” relationship with the Lord.

Wow, to be declared “righteous” by the God of the universe because of our faith. Amazing! I would love to hear your story of faith and how the Lord has rewarded your belief in Him.