Our Journey of Faith

(This is my message summary and reflection from Bro. Francis Tupaz’ message during the B1G Ministry Update last March 15, 2014)

“God’s faithfulness extends beyond our personal experiences. We must take a longer view of history”

Each of us has a faith journey. We have our own share of stories on how God has been and is being faithful and kind to us.

As a believer, I have men and women of faith that I look up to. I admire how faithful and persevering they are in running the race despite the innumerable life’s struggles that they are dealing with. As my approbation towards them grows, I realized that they are being faithful in their service not merely because of their own strength. It’s all because of God after all. It is still God who called them; it is God who sustains them; and it is God who reassures them of their calling.

Our journey of faith starts with the ever faithful God. Exodus 3:6 says, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”  It is somehow parallel to the verses from the New Testament such as Matthew and Acts. Matthew 22:32 says, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” And in Acts 7:32 “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look” In these verses, God is speaking about His faithfulness—an unchanging God. A God who has been faithful to Abraham is the same God who has been faithful to Isaac and Jacob.  Regardless of how difficult times may be, God is still and will still be faithful. Sometimes, God uses our down moments because there were times when we’re doing smoothly well, we tend to focus on ourselves. Down times serve as a reminder for all of us that it’s actually not about us, it’s all about God.

Since I have mentioned the three significant men of faith, let us take a closer look on their faith journeys.

Abraham’s Journey of Faith

     Abraham was called by God straightforwardly. He gave His directions to Abraham enveloping it with His great promises to him. In Genesis 12: 31 it says, “The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you”. God commanded Abraham to go to a place which he has not gone to; but despite the uncertainty that entails God’s command, by faith, Abraham answered the call. Verse 4 says, “So Abram went as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran” Abraham could have said no to God’s call to him, but he didn’t. He chose to follow God despite the uncertainties that await him. How about you? How about us? Have you chosen to follow Jesus despite the hardships and uncertainties that abound us? Where lies our security? What holds us back to respond to God’s call?

Though Abraham had been a faithful servant of God, it doesn’t change the fact that he was still a mere human who have fallen short of God’s glory. He had also flaws. Genesis 12:10-13 says, “As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, ‘I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say ‘This is his wife’ then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you’. Wasn’t that just so coward of him? He rather chose to lie in order to spare himself from death pit. He had been coward, he had been a liar, he had been a sinner—just like you and me. But it is comforting thing to know that even though Abraham had been coward, He still chose to call Him. It’s a proof that God doesn’t call the qualified, rather, He qualifies the called because in our weaknesses, in our flaws, the glory and power of God will be magnified.

God had given Abraham great promises and Abraham held on to them. In Genesis 15:5-6 it says, “‘Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them, so shall your offspring will be.’ Abraham believed the Lord he credited it to him as righteousness”.  His faith in God was credited to Him as righteousness. It simply tells us that our service to God is not measured on how great or how little effort we exert. It’s the faithful heart, mind, and spirit that matters. Our full trust and dependence do not make us weak; they make us righteous.

Abraham’s faith had been put into test when he was compelled to offer his son Isaac as a living sacrifice to God. In Genesis 22:1-2 it says, “Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am”, he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” It says in these verses that Abraham was asked to sacrifice his only son, who he loved. It was such a tormenting and mind-boggling task for someone who yearned to have a son and then when he had it, he had to give it away.

Through that tough trial that Abraham had to face, he had been transformed. From someone who was so scared and flawed, he turned out to be a man full of faith in the Lord. Genesis 22:3-5 says, “Early the next morning, Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son, Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. He said to his servants, ‘Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you” He was willing to sacrifice the child whom he loved and longed for, so that he could fulfill what the Lord had asked Him to do. Bible scholars say that Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering because he believed that God would bring Isaac back to life. It simply tells us that Abraham knows his Father, he knows the God whom he was worshiping and serving. It says in Genesis 22:8 “Abraham answered, ‘God will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son” It dawned in me that knowing God and having a closer relationship with Him will enable to follow Him even if it means that I would be facing the uncertainties of life; even if it means taking a cup of suffering; even if it means losing what I treasure the most. I will surrender and I will follow because I know my God and my Father.

But God, as loving, merciful, and gracious as He is, he did not let Abraham sacrifice his own son to be a burnt offering. In Genesis 22:12-14 it says, “’Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ he said. ‘Do not lay anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son’. Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided” Just like us, we all have struggles and we our faith is being tested on a daily basis. But God is faithful, He doesn’t put us into a test which is beyond what we could bear. As it is written in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide away out so that you can endure it.”

ABRAHAM. From being a man who was flawed and scared, he then became a MAN of FAITH.

Now let’s take a closer look of Jacob’s faith journey. Jacob has been known as a deceitful and envious brother of Isaac. Because he wanted the positional birthright of his brother, he deceived him. But when he realized his indiscretions, he turned out to be a man who wrestled with God until God blessed him.

Abraham and Jacob. Both were regarded as men of faith. They were both flawed, sinners—just like you and I. They all had a personal encounter with God—just like you and I. They all had a life-changing encounter with God—just like you and I. And they were both blessed by God—just like you and I.

If we ask ourselves, how does God blessed me with? Is it merely on the tangible things? Earthly treasures? Personal pursuits?  Well, God is a gracious God and He is our Jehovah Jireh, a God that provides; and His grace is sufficient for all of us. But above all that. We should take the opportunity of knowing God as a blessing. Knowing God is a blessing that no amount could suffice.

We may have our own Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob whom we look up to as men of faith. We regard them as someone who is worthy to emulate. Many times we look up to those men and women of faith too much that we lose sight of the fact that it is God who is working in and through them. We may look up to them, but our faith should not lie solely to them, We should always yield on God’s faithfulness, because He is unchangeable, unshakeable, and unstoppable--- that’s what He is.

“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.”

–Deuteronomy 7:9-