Able

Have you ever given yourself a good hard look and thought, “I can’t do it”? Maybe you did some soul searching after hearing a sermon on forgiveness. After contemplating if you could forgive a person, you thought, “I can’t.” Or maybe you’ve had surgery and were told to get up and walk down the hall. Laying in bed you considered how weak you felt. The idea of swinging your legs over the bed seemed impossible and to touch your feet to the hospital floor and take steps insurmountable. Maybe you’ve been nauseated. You haven’t slept. You’re weak. You contemplate your twin’s cries to be lifted from their crib and you don’t think you have the strength to take care of them all day.  The above situations are ones you’ve perhaps experienced, and somewhere deep down inside you ended up realizing that hard as it was, you were able to do the hard work before you. But there was another person who contemplated his situation and unlike the ones we ended up being able to do, he truly wasn’t able. Yet God was telling him a result that was expected. We find the situation being recounted in Romans 4:17-21. God told Abraham he would be the father of many nations and that he would father a child with his wife, Sarah. But listen to his odds for doing that. “Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb;” Stop right there. Can’t you just see it? Abraham is looking at his body. He’s staring at it. Contemplating it. “Isn’t going to happen,” he must be thinking. But even if a miracle happened with his body, he turns and looks at his wrinkled wife and contemplates that she wasn’t able to get pregnant in her fertile years. Not going to happen.

“Yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform, Romans 4:20-21.”

Amazing! Whoop it up with me will you?  Do you need a “yet”? A “yet with respect to the promises of God” in your life?  God is here for us. Refresh your knowledge of how His promises are relevant by studying 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and Jude.

Have you ever given yourself a good hard look and thought, “I can’t do it.” Maybe you did some soul searching after hearing a sermon on forgiveness. But after contemplating if you could forgive a person, you realized, “I can’t.” Or maybe you’ve had surgery or been hospitalized and were told to get up and walk down the hall. Laying in bed, you considered how weak you felt. The idea of swinging your legs over the bed seemed impossible and to touch your feet to the hospital floor and take steps insurmountable. Maybe you’ve been nauseated and hanging your head over the toilet. You haven’t slept. You’re weak. You contemplate the twins’ cries to be lifted from the crib and you don’t think you physically have the strength to take care of them all day.  The above situations are ones you’ve perhaps experienced, and somewhere deep down inside you ended up realizing that hard as it was, you were able to do the hard work before you. But there was another person who contemplated his situation and unlike the ones we ended up being able to do, he truly wasn’t able. Yet God was telling him a result that was expected. We find the situation being recounted in Romans 4:17-21. God told Abraham he would be the father of many nations and that he would father children with his wife, Sarah. But listen to his odds for fathering a child. “Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb;” Stop right there. Can’t you just see it. Abraham is looking at his body. He’s staring at it. Contemplating it. “Ain’t gonna happen,” he must be thinking. But even if a miracle happened with his body, he turns and looks at his wrinkled wife and contemplates that she wasn’t able to get pregnant in her fertile years. Not gonna happen. “Yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God.” Amazing! Whoop it up with me will you, please? We all need more “yet”s in our life. (Not Yetis) Are you with me? Go back and read the progression. Looking at self and others = Dead. Nope. Not gonna happen. Looking at self and others + God’s promises = growing strong in faith and giving glory to God. Friend, do you need a “yet”? A “yet with respect to God” factored into your life, into your situation, into your marriage, into your health, into your child, into your work, into what is happening in our nation?  I need a yet. And I’m planning on factoring it in as I contemplate the “nope, not gonna happens” in my life. I hope you will, too.

“and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was ABLE also to perform.'”  Romans 4:21

I can’t do it! I can’t live the Christian life God calls me to live. Our Heavenly Father understands that. He knew that Abraham couldn’t fulfill His vision for his life, and He knows we’re not able. So what is our part in living for God? Faith. Faith that God is able. Romans 4:19-21 explains the importance of our faith in God.  “Without becoming weak in faith he (Abraham) contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.” That’s it! Abraham nailed it. God called him to have a son when he was not physically able, but he trusted God to do it. That is how we are to live. Note that the verse says Abraham grew strong in faith. We may feel that our faith is weak, but it can grow stronger.

LISTEN

I can’t do it! I can’t live the Christian life God calls me to live. Our Heavenly Father understands that. He knew that Abraham couldn’t fulfill His vision for his life, and He knows we’re not able. So what is our part in living for God? Faith. Faith that God is able. Romans 4:19-21 explains the importance of our faith in God.  “Without becoming weak in faith he (Abraham) contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.” That’s it! Abraham nailed it. God’s calling – for him to have a son when he was not physically able, but trusting God to do it, is also how we can live. Note how the verse says Abraham grew strong in faith. We may feel weak in faith today, but we can grow stronger. 

“and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was ABLE also to perform.'”

 Romans 4:21

Recently, I wandered into a kickboxing class. I’d been eyeing it from across the room where I participated in another class. I kept watching the instructor and felt sure I wasn’t able to keep up with her.

Lots of people promise things. Sometimes we boast that we can get something done by a certain time or in a certain way, and then we can’t.

Imagine having full confidence that when someone says something, they’re able to deliver. Well, we have that in God. If He says it, it’s good as done.

Abraham had that confidence in God. He believed God was able to do what He promised. He believed in God’s power.

If we’re struggling with something, it’s good to remember that God is ABLE. He’s able to do what we can’t do. He’s able to keep His promises. And that’s why we praise Him!