The Faith Of Abraham And Sarah

I used to feel pretty beat up about my weakness of faith - all the ups and downs. It looked like I could never match Abraham. 

Romans 4:19,20 says Abraham did not weaken in faith or waver. 

But a good read of the Genesis record of his and Sarah's journey shows what it looked like in real life. God is amazing! He "forgot" about Abraham's wavering and the whole Ishmael deal, and here and in Hebrews 11 compliments Abraham and Sarah for living in faith! 

God doesn't condemn them for their lapses, (they did waver over Sarah's womb, she did laugh, they did question) but God does not hold it over their heads, does not punish them, He forgets it like it never happened! He says they didn't waver. He compliments them. And they still got the promise, Even though they struggled through it! 

Vs 20 says Abraham grew in faith. That's what happens with us. The whole faith walk is a journey, is a process. We grow in it. We learn in it. And the whole package together, all the trials and tribulations in it, our failings and successes, all of that is our faith! That's why when the big test came later, when God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, his confidence in God had grown to the point where he knew no matter what, God would keep His promise. 

In Luke 22:31, Jesus prayed that Peter's faith would not fail and He said "when you turn back strengthen your brothers." So faith can have set backs but when you turn back you have not failed. 

Romans 4 concludes with, “But the words 'it was counted to him' were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” 

We can trust God for His promises.  Our faith works!