Abraham

Hello Readers! I hope your week has been great?

Firstly, Thank God It’s Friday! 💃 💃 💃

Friday in my opinion kickstarts the weekend so, to get you settled in, I want to tell you about a man I really admire.

He is a man whose faith and obedience are a big deal in the Bible.

I think you know who I’m talking about! Yes! It’s Father Abraham!

I know, I know, some of us know this story but it’s still great to talk about him.

That being said, what are some of the things Abraham exhibited? The things that make us talk about him all the time?

His Faith and Obedience.

By scriptural definition, Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen — Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)

Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see — Hebrews 11 vs 1 NLT

Obedience on the other hand is compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to authority.

Abraham formerly called Abram was a man of faith and total obedience.

He displayed a lot of faith in God from the very beginning till the very end.

In Genesis 12:1–3, God instructed Abraham to leave his father’s land and go to a place that He will show him. He promised to give Abraham many descendants and to make him famous.

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you — Genesis 12 vs 1–3 NLT

Abraham got up and left.

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there — Genesis 12 vs 4–5 NLT

Hold up, readers! Did you read that? God didn’t say where Abraham should go nor did He mention a specific town or country. He only said that He would show Abraham, and Abraham obeyed!

Abraham not knowing where to go left his father’s land and followed God’s instructions. The Bible does not record any argument or refusal from Abraham. Instead, the bible tells us that Abraham took his wife, Sarah (formerly called Sarai), and his brother’s son, Lot along with Him.

Honestly, readers, that is crazy faith! There was no detailed plan shown to Abraham, it was just a promise made by God and instructions given. There was no vision of how it would all go down. Yet, Abraham had faith in the Lord. He trusted his word and obeyed every instruction he received.

Moving forward, we see Abraham in his old age, and without a child. This, he brought to God in Genesis 15 vs 2–3 and God reminded him of His promises when He instructed him to leave his father’s land.

But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir. — Genesis 15 vs 2–3 NLT

Abraham then trusted God and this pleased God.

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars — if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.— Genesis 15 vs 4–6 NLT

It is worth mentioning though, that at some point, Sarah became impatient and she gave her slave to Abraham so she could bear children through her. However, Hagar, Sarah’s slave, despised Sarah when she realized that she was pregnant. My point here is that Hagar’s child was not God’s will for Abraham. So, the process didn’t go well for them (Genesis 16).

Back to my story. On a certain afternoon, the Lord appeared to Abraham as three men standing at the sacred trees of Mamre. Abraham went out to meet them and he offered to treat them to a meal.

The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. — Genesis 18 vs 1–2 NLT

Abraham knew that they were of the Lord and from the Lord.

He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way — now that you have come to your servant.” “Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.” — Genesis 18 vs 3–5 NLT

Okay! Let’s take a moment here to pause. Will you ever invite strangers to your home? Tell me your thoughts in the comments.

Note that, Abraham was able to discern that they were of God so, his case is quite unique. However, for you, would you do the same? Let us know.

During the visit, one of them reiterated God’s promise that Abraham would have a son, and this time gave a duration for the fulfillment of the promise.

Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” — Genesis 18 vs 10 NLT

Abraham put his faith in God’s word again and by obedience, trusted that Isaac (the promised child) would be born and waited for him to be born.

Sure enough, Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah just as God had promised.

Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. — Genesis 21 vs 1–3 NLT

I for one, believe that the biggest test of Abraham’s faith and obedience was not asking him to leave his father’s house or even promising him a child in his old age. I believe it was the test of sacrificing Isaac, the promised child.

Sometime later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love — Isaac — and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” — Genesis 22 vs 1–2 NLT

Honestly speaking, Abraham’s faith in God’s promises was evident in his obedience to God’s word every time. But having to sacrifice the child he waited all those years to have? That’s one huge leap of faith and total obedience! I really wonder what was going through his head at that time.

I mean, how many of us can submit to the gravity of those instructions? We can hardly even submit to daily devotion which is necessary for our walk with God. How much more, giving back a gift such as that?

The faith that Abraham had in God is the kind of faith we ought to have and the obedience he displayed is the kind of obedience we ought to portray whenever we receive instructions from God and do even more than what Abraham did.

I pray that regardless of the circumstances or situations we find ourselves in, we are able to submit completely to God’s will, commit our ways to His ways, and live in total obedience to His word always in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

I hope that from my short story, you're able to bring your heart to a place of obedience and faith and you see that it pays to walk with and trust in God always.

I must say that it was really good to write to you.

If you have a story about obedience and you would like to share it, please share it with us in the comments or send it as a mail to mailtheyellowblog@gmail.com.

We would really love to hear from you. Have a great weekend!

Damilola Aruna-Ogun 💛