By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went out to a place he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, coheirs of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.     Hebrews 11:8-10 HCSB

There is one thing that can be said for Abraham, he was certainly a man of great faith.

Abraham is introduced as Abram, God later changed his name to Abraham, in Genesis chapter 12. God calls him to leave his homeland and his relatives and go to a place that God will show him. God doesn’t tell Abraham where he will be going, and Abraham doesn’t ask. He simply does as God tells him to do.

Abraham demonstrates his great faith in many ways. He believes God’s promises to make him a great nation or give him many descendants. He stays focused on things above. Although, he is a very wealthy man he lived in tents his whole life. He didn’t concern himself with building a big fine house. He was focused on the home that awaited him in heaven. As our Scripture passage puts it, he was focused on a city where God was the architect and builder.

But Abraham had a few hiccups along the way. In Genesis chapter 12, there was a great famine in the land. God had promised to make him into a great nation, so we would have to reason that God was not going to let Abraham and his wife die in this famine, right? But Abraham was afraid. He let his fear overtake his faith and traveled to Egypt. Because his wife was a very beautiful woman, he feared that he could be killed. He concocted a scheme where they would lie and tell everyone that his wife was his sister. This was only a partial life because she was his half-sister. But we must remember that a partial lie or a half-truth is still a lie. He didn’t pray to God to sustain them through the famine. He didn’t pray to God to protect them in Egypt.

Then in Genesis chapter 16, Abraham and his wife allowed their impatience to cause their faith to fail. God had promised Abraham a son. This is how he would become a great nation. Abraham believed that promise. But ten years later, he and his wife grew impatient. Once again, they came up with a plan. They didn’t pray about it or consult God. They simply took matters into their own hands. No good ever comes of this, in case you were wondering. I have learned this from personal experience.

A customary practice in that day was for the wife to give her servant to her husband for the purpose of bearing children. So, that’s just what they did. Sarah gave her servant, Hagar, to her husband Abraham to be his wife and bear children for them. And from this union the Arab nation was born. In Genesis 16, before Ishmael was born, God told Hagar that her son would be a wild donkey of a man and would live at odds with everyone.

Abraham and Sarah later went on to have a son of their own. Abraham would face the ultimate test when God called him to go up to the mountain and offer his son on the altar as a burnt offering. Abraham did as God instructed and at the last minute, God provided a ram for the sacrifice and spared Abraham’s son.

I told you all of this because I want you to understand that even those with great faith sometimes fail the test. While Abraham passed many big tests of faith, he failed a few along the way. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. Pleasing God should be on the top of our to-do list.

One common thread where Abraham’s faith failed him is that he was fearful. He let fear overcome his faith. Another common thread is that it doesn’t say he prayed. We must keep in constant contact with our Lord and Savior. When we feel fearful, we should pray and not take matters into our own hands.

Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us we should love the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding. We should acknowledge Him in all our ways, and he will direct our paths. Trust in God always. When you feel fear creeping up on you, give it over to God. Trust Him to take good care of you. When you grow impatient, know that God’s timing is always perfect.

We can avoid a lot of pain and heartache if we will only keep the faith.

Have a great day!