I am still meditating on Rogers’ quote that I shared on Monday.
My meditation formula combines the initiating quote, driven to and then double-parked next to the Scripture. If the Word does not contradict it, it is then witnessed in biblical illustrations that, in turn, could be practiced personally.
Thus, this meditation equation looks like this:
the quote, “Faith is not primarily believing God in spite of the evidence; it is obeying God in spite of the consequences, not having to know why”[1]
aligned next to the Scripture, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 KJV),
and Abraham, the father of the faithful, as the biblical illustration.
Then see if there is any personal application.
With Abraham as our biblical illustration, here are seven “classes” where his faith was tested in believing God and not knowing why:
1. Taking the family and moving
2. Egypt in a time of famine
3. A fellowship test
4. A financial test
5. A test of the miraculous
6. The farewell test
7. A sacrificial test
I won’t go into detail in expounding the tests—I want to leave plenty of freedom for personal application. However, here are the “class” summaries for your review:
Taking the family and moving—leaving their home, not knowing all that awaits (Genesis 12 [Abram leaves home]).
Egypt in a time of famine—knowing how to respond in a situation (Genesis 12:10-20 [a scenario in Egypt]).
A fellowship test—letting one’s relation choose and rescuing them from that choice (Genesis 13:8-14:16 [Lot’s choice and rescuing him from his captors]).
A Financial test—tithing and giving (Genesis 14:17-24 [an encounter with the High Priest]).
A test of the miraculous—Hearing, believing, and waiting on a word received from the Lord (Genesis 15:1-4 [a seed is promised]).
The farewell test—knowing when to say “bye” (Genesis 17:20; 21:12-14 [casting out…]).
A sacrificial test—placing something you love on the altar (Genesis 22 [Isaac on the altar]).
Now that we have reviewed the classes, maybe we are more faithful than we thought—all by His grace!
[1] https://www.lwf.org/sermons/audio/the-testing-of-your-faith-2392#:~:text=Adrian%20Rogers%20says%2C%20%E2%80%9CFaith%20is,of%20God%20for%20our%20lives.
Photo by Billy Pasco on Unsplash