One day, when God came to visit, Abram appears to be having a crisis. The life of faith in this world is never mountaintop after mountaintop experience. After a time of great triumph and glorifying of God, Abraham is now low. He is worried that God had not given him a son. I do not why this is the case for God’s faithful, perhaps it happens to keep us from getting too puffed up in ourselves. The situation certainly happened to Abram and it still happens to us now.
In such times, we fear that God has abandoned us one way or another or when His promise has faded we should remember this prayer: “Lord I believe, help my unbelief!” Only when we are made free from this sinful world by our physical death and brought into the new heaven and new earth on the last day will we finally see the fullness of the things which we hope for in faith, just as Abraham. And so here we are with Abram being told now to fear not. Do not be anxious, but make known your petitions and supplications to the Lord in prayer.
The external word of God is spoken into Abraham’s ears, just as it spoken into your own when you hear your pastor proclaim God’s Word. By God’s grace Abraham had faith in God’s promise, just as you believe in the promises of God. Abraham knew how God had spoken and fulfilled what He promised in the past. The one who speaks is faithful to His Word.
Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Abraham received the physical son, Isaac, but as the author of the book of Hebrews and Paul tell us Abraham trusted in the promise of the physical One seed who would come, that being Jesus Christ, who would save Abraham and the whole world from the wrath of sin and eternal death by his own sacrificial death on the cross. Jesus himself tells the Jews that Abraham rejoiced at Jesus’ day. For the city which Abraham desired to enter was not a physical city, but the Holy city of God — the heavenly Jerusalem.
Let’s not be anxious about the trials in our lives, for God does and will provide. He who has spoken is faithful to His Word. Like Abraham, who did not see all the promises fulfilled in his lifetime, let us not fear. Rather let us rejoice in the Lord for what He has done and continues to do for us that we might be considered His children.
Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO
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