Abram’s Question

"But Abram replied, 'O Sovereign LORD, how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?' "

Genesis 15:6

In Genesis 15:6, Abram puts his trust in God and God counts him as righteous. Abram stands as a paradigm of faith.

Yet when the Lord reiterates his promise to give the promised land to Abram, the man of faith seems uncertain. "How can I know that this will happen?" he asks.

Abram's question shows us something crucial about faith. It isn't blind acceptance. It isn't taking a leap into the unknown so much as responding with trust to God's revelation. To be certain, faith goes beyond what we can know for sure. But it is based on our knowledge of God.

Abram also exemplifies the real struggle of the life of faith. He believes in one moment, and in the next he is uncertain. When we go through similar faith challenges, we mustn't condemn ourselves for having too little faith.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Have there been times in your life when you have had abundant faith, only to fall quickly into uncertainty? When you're not sure about your trust in God, what do you do?

PRAYER: Gracious God, thank you for this picture of Abram's relationship with you. One moment he's the paradigm of trust; the next moment he's uncertain. How encouraging it is for me to know that my struggles with faith aren't mine alone. Even the most faithful people in history wrestled with uncertainty.

When I'm not sure I can trust you, when I wrestle with doubt, help me to be like Abram, and to bring myself truly before you. Help me to get away from pretending to be that which I am not. Teach me to be honest with you, Lord, so that you might deal with the real me.

And then help me, I pray, to trust you more fully. Amen.