The Pastor’s Corner

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“Abraham did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God.” ( Romans 4:20)

“You got to have faith.” People say. But what does that mean? Is any faith good faith?

“Believe in yourself and all that you are,” wrote one positive thinker a century ago. “Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle,” As nice as that may sound, it falls to pieces when it crashes into reality. We need faith in something bigger than ourselves.

God promised Abraham, he would have a multitude of descendants ( Gen. 15:45),

so he faced a huge obstacle- he was old and childless. When he and Sarah got tired of waiting for God to make good on His promise, they tried to overcome that obstacle on their own. However, this was not God’s plan. As a result, they fractured their family and created a lot of unnecessary dissension (see Gen. 16 and 21:8-21).

Nothing Abraham did in his own strength worked. But ultimately, he became known as a man of tremendous faith. Paul wrote of him, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be” ( Romans 4:18). God fulfilled His promise and gave Abraham

and Sarah a son whom they named Isaac.

Abraham’s faith was in something bigger than himself- the one and only God. It is the object of our faith the makes all the di_erence. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” When we believe that God will fulfill his promises even though we don’t see those promises materializing yet, we demonstrate faith.

We need to ask the Lord for a strong faith in Him, not just faith in ourselves or our abilities or in others. We are nothing with Him. Faith is the conviction based on past experiences that God’s new and fresh surprises will surely be ours.

( Editor’s Note: Pastor Sifuentes is the pastor of the Assembly of God Church in Wolf Point. He and his wife, Martha, have been ministering in Wolf Point for 11 years, 10 years as lead pastors. Martha is a Spanish teacher at Wolf Point Jr/Sr. High School. They are former residents of Sidney.)