The Foolishness That Faith Requires

In hope he [Abraham] believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, "So shall your offspring be." He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. -Rom 4:18-21

When asked about faith this is always the scripture I turn to. The things he saw in the natural did not cause him to distrust God. He believed God was able to deliver on his promises.

The definition of faith has deteriorated in our culture. Many people will say, "I believe in God" or "I have faith in God." What they mean is that they believe that God exists. Although that is a necessary component of faith, that is not the fullness of biblical faith.

Looking at Abraham in Romans 4 we see that there is something else that is essential to faith. Abraham had more than an intellectual agreement with a doctrinal statement. Faith was more to him than just believing in one true God. He heard the word of the LORD, and when he did everything changed. When God spoke he obeyed, believing that God would do what he said.

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. -Rom 10:17

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. -Heb 11:6

How would you respond if a man in your church who was ninety years old said one day that God told him he and his eighty year old barren wife would have a child in the next year? Would you say, "Praise God, let me stand with you and believe for God's word to be fulfilled," or would you smile awkwardly thinking this poor old man had lost his mind?

The only reason Abraham's story is so commonly accepted is that we have the luxury of standing at the end and looking back. We have the rest of the story. We see the fulfillment of the promise so we naturally view Abraham as a hero of faith rather than a fool. However, if we were to stand with him in the middle of his journey we would find little outward evidence to distinguish him from a foolish dreamer with delusions of grandeur.

This is where the foolishness comes into the picture. There are times when faith will require us to stand alone clinging to the word of the LORD, looking like a fool to everyone around us. Read Hebrews 11 (the "faith hall of fame") with this fresh perspective. Each one of those people looked like a fool and a lunatic while waiting for the fulfillment of the word of God.

If we only have faith for what can be accomplished in the natural then our faith rests in the ability of man and not God. The foolishness that faith requires is the willingness to believe that God will do what is impossible in the natural. If God has spoken, faith believes in that word as if it is already a reality.

This sounds hard doesn't it? It sounds like the only way to have real faith is to grit our teeth and muscle our way through it like a good soldier, to force ourselves to believe for the impossible. I've learned by experience that this doesn't work. It relies too much on my own strength and I'm doomed to discouragement right from the get go. So how are we to live out this faith that clings to God's word no matter what comes? The answer is back with Abraham in Romans 4. It says that he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. The secret to faith that endures is to glorify the LORD and to rest in the assurance that God will fulfill his word.

I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. -Ps 86:12