Faith Like Abraham

If you haven't already, please go read the daily Mass readings for today. You can see them here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/013115.cfm

They are so good. I love how our church makes it so easy for us to read the bible by matching up old testament readings with the gospels that make them make so much sense. Both readings today on their own do a great job of teaching us about faith, but together, it really hits home.

I don't know about you, but I seem to bounce back and forth in my belief without often realizing it. It's not that I ever stop believing in God, but maybe just slowly start to forget just how GOOD He is, or just how much He cares for me and has a great plan for my life. You know, one moment something amazing happens and you believe, or you're waiting on something great and you just KNOW, no matter what, that God's going to come through. But then there are the times that we get discouraged, maybe pessimistic and we entertain thoughts that God's not in control of this situation, or let ourselves believe He's not concerned with it. Or maybe we just kind of forget to include Him in the mix at all, doing it on our own, going our own way without realizing that means we're not following Him.

Today, this story of Abraham was God's wake up call to me about just where my faith is at. What an amazing man who believed what God promised, even when it seemed impossible. How hard is it for me to often believe things that don't even seem that difficult? Why did he believe? Simply: "he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy." Heb 11
God, give me faith like Abraham, and help me remember just how trustworthy you are.

And then, as if Abraham doesn't make me look bad enough, speaking of the descendants of Abraham it says :
"All these died in faith.
They did not receive what had been promised
but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth,
for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland.
If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come,
they would have had opportunity to return.
But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one.
Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God,
for he has prepared a city for them."
They did not receive what had been promised... God, give me faith like these holy people, who never gave up on you. Even when they met death without having received their promise, they knew their God enough to know he was trustworthy. And they knew Him enough to desire a heavenly homeland more than an earthly one. Just like Jesus, who met death before receiving His promise.

God's timing is a tricky thing. We often must wait for God's promises to us. Usually not nearly as long as many of the Saints did, but they never come as quickly as we'd like them to. That's when I have to really draw closer to Him, because the more I know His heart, the more I know just how trustworthy it is, and I can confidently trust in His timing.

Then, I have to acknowledge that striving to obtain the faith that God asks of me will be an endless task on this earth. Even as the disciples are in the boat with Jesus, they lose faith. I'm sure I'll have so many more ups and downs along the way, but if I keep Jesus in my boat, even if my faith is to falter, surely He'll be there to get me back on track and reassure me that "the one who made the promise is trustworthy."

God, give me faith like Abraham. Jesus, give me faith like yours. Holy Spirit, quiet my heart as I wait.