Romans 4:21 - And being fully
persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
This statement of Paul comes out of a very
powerful section of scripture which describes Abraham and his walk of faith. As
we read of the life and the circumstance of Abraham and how he was called by
God to pioneer a path of faith for all of us to follow, it is no wonder that he
is held in such high esteem all over the world even to this day.
God had spoken to Abraham about the fact
that an heir would come out of his own body; he would father his own son. Then
God said, ‘Look at the stars and count them if you can; so shall your seed be’.
That statement is the promise that is spoken of in this verse and in the light
of that, we might wish to reconsider our idea of what a promise is. We’ve heard
it said that all of God’s promises are conditional; God promises, we meet the
condition and He fulfills the promise. This is our culture’s basic
understanding of a promise. We do a similar thing with our children; if you
clean your room then you can have a snack after dinner; if you do well on your
grades then we will buy you a new bicycle. There is certainly an aspect of this
that is correct; there is indeed an ‘if’ in many verses of scripture.
However, let’s look closer at this particular
promise of God. ‘So shall your seed be’. It is not really a promise in the way
we normally think of it; it’s actually a statement, an announcement or a
declaration. This is the way it is. ‘So shall your seed be’. As Abraham heard
that statement, it produced something in his heart; he became fully persuaded.
What was he fully persuaded of? He was completely convinced that what God
declared, He was more than able to bring it to pass. This took all of the
responsibility right out of Abraham’s hands and placed it all exactly where God
wanted it; in His hands.
Anybody can make bold declarations but not
everybody can back them up; not everybody has the ability to bring these
declarations to pass. Abraham recognized who it was that made the declared
promise. God said it; the Creator of the universe was the source of this
declaration; God Almighty had spoken, and He is well able to fulfill His
promise. Years ago there was a popular saying that went like this, ‘God said
it, I believe it and that settles it’, but maybe we should re-phrase it; ‘God
said it and that settles it’. I believe that this is what happened for Abraham;
he heard God speak; he recognized who said it and he fully relied on the character
and the ability of the speaker; that settled it.
A man
by the name of James Stewart once wrote something which will help us here. He
said that, ‘The constant watchword of the New Testament is not “We are able”,
but what you do find over and over again is, “He is able”, and when [the writers]
say it, they are looking away from themselves to God’. God is the one who has
all ability, capability, power and might; He is able. We must look away from
ourselves and look to Him. This is the persuasive thought that came into
Abraham’s heart that produced an unshakeable conviction that this promise of
God will surely come to pass. What are some of these promises of God for us
today? ‘All your children shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be the
peace of your children’, ‘By whose stripes you were healed’, ‘My God shall
supply all your need according to His riches’. We are not the performer of these
promises; He is. We don’t make it happen; God does. We don’t have the wisdom to
make it happen; we don’t have the power to make it happen; we don’t have the
resources to make it happen; our Heavenly Father does. Our part is simply to
accept and agree with what He promises and let that Word persuade us and keep
us calm as we lean back in the arms of our Father and allow Him to fulfill His
promise. Thank you, Lord! You are definitely more than able!
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