No unbelief 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.
—Romans 4:20-21
If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, then strong faith is your single greatest strength. Your finances may be important. Your health, your mind, your reputation, all of these matter. But none of them is what will carry you through this life. Strong faith will.
Look at the background here. Abraham’s name means “father of a multitude”, and for decades that name mocked him, because he had no children at all. God had promised him a son, but the years dragged on. By the time we reach this verse, Scripture describes Abraham’s body as “as good as dead,” about a hundred years old, and Sarah’s womb as barren. Humanly speaking, the situation was hopeless. As the old saying goes, he had one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel.
And yet, “no unbelief made him waver.” Watch what Abraham did with an impossibility. He didn’t look at his old body and Sarah’s barren womb and shrink back. He looked to God and grew stronger, giving glory to God, “fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.”
Here’s the secret of that strong faith: faith is only as valid as its object. Let me say that again, because it changes everything. Faith is only as good as the thing it rests on. We don’t need great faith so much as we need faith in a great God. Your faith is not in your faith: it is in God who is utterly trustworthy.
That’s why faith is never strengthened by looking inward. All the Eastern religions tell you to look within for peace and serenity, a kind of spiritual navel-gazing. But faith doesn’t grow by staring at yourself. Faith grows by looking up. Abraham didn’t become strong by examining his own resources; he became strong as he gave glory to God.
And notice what faith does. Faith steps out into the unknown. Faith takes risks, believing God all the way. Faith conquers impossibilities. Abraham staked his future, his family, his entire legacy on a promise from God, with no human grounds for hope. Kent Hughes put it beautifully: “Abraham weighed the human impossibility of becoming a father against the divine impossibility of God breaking His word, and decided that if God is God, nothing is impossible.”
What promise are you struggling to believe today? What dead end has you ready to give up? Stop trying and start trusting. God is not asking you for great faith, He’s asking for simple faith in His greatness. One step, one day at a time.
Don’t beg as though God were reluctant. Believe, as though God were faithful, because He is. It is impossible for Him to lie or to break a promise. Abraham’s faith did not weaken; it grew stronger. So can yours.
FAITH IS ONLY AS VALID AS ITS OBJECT. YOU DON’T NEED GREAT FAITH, YOU NEED FAITH IN A GREAT GOD.
