TRUSTING GOD - Contd.
In the previous part 2, we learned that our self life can be so subtle as well as it can be very deceitful that it can enter the very sanctuary of God and try to serve Him there. Gods's work has to be a work of faith, a work that originates in man's helpless dependence upon God. So now, let us learn about...
Man's extremity - God's opportunity
Isaac, unlike Ishmael, was not the product of Abraham's strength. Abraham had become sterile by then. (This can be understood from Rom. 4:19 where not only Sarah's womb but Abraham's body is also said to be "dead"). Isaac was born through God strengthening impotent Abraham. This is the type of service that last forever. One "Isaac" is worth a thousand "Ishmaels"s. Just like Ishmael was cast out by Abraham on God's saying (Gen. 21:10-14) and Isaac was allowed to stay with Abraham, all "Ishmaels' will have to be cast out one day.
The lesson here is that service which is a result of God working through us will remain for eternity. Everything else will be burnt up. You may have heard the saying, "Only one life, it will soon be past; only what's done for Christ will last." But it would be more accurate to say, "Only what Christ does through me will last".
Only that which is "from Him and through Him and to Him" (Rom.11:36) will last for eternity.
Paul lved and labored acccording to God's living and working through him (Gal. 2:20 and Col. 1:29). Hence his life and labors were so effective. He lived by faith and he worked by faith.
In Gen. 16:16, we read that Abraham was 86 yrs old when Hagar bore Ishmael. In the very next verse (Gen. 17:1), we read that Abraham was 99 yrs old when God appeared to him again. We see here a gap of 13 years. Those were the years when God waited for Abraham to become impotent, so that He could fulfill His promise. That is God's way with all His servants. He cannot work through them till they recognize their impotence. And in some cases, He has to wait for many years.
Abraham needed to learn what it really meant to trust God. He had to learn that it was only when he became impotent that he could truly exercise faith. In Rom. 4:19-21, we read that although Abraham knew that hiss body was impotent to produce a son, yet that did not worry him. He was strong in faith and glorified God by believing that God was well able to perform what He had promised. He did not waver in disbelief, for his feet stood firm on the rock of God's Word to him. But when could Abraham exercise such faith? Only when he had come to an end of all confidence in his own ability. We too can exercise real faith only when we reach that state of utter helplessness. This is God's way, so that no flesh may ever glory in His presence.
This however does not mean that we do nothing, for God does not want us to be reduced to a state of inactivity. That is the other extreme of error. God used Abraham to produce Isaac. God didn't do it all by Himself, for Isaac was not born apart from Abraham done his part. NO. But there was a difference between te birth of Ishmael and the birth of Isaac. In both cases, Abraham was the father. But in the first case, it was in dependence upon his own strength; in the second, in dependence upon the power of God. That was the difference - and what a vital difference it was!
Hope you all learnt some lessons from the above chapter. In the next issue, I would be presenting on "No confidence in the flesh" and "Dependence on the Holy Spirit" in the coming parts. I would like to take this time to thank Zac Poonen for his wonderful book "Beauty for Ashes". The above has been taken from the same book.
I would like all my Brothers and Sisters in Christ to pray for me so that the Lord Almighty guide me, not in presenting the words from other people but also to open my mind His Holy Words and understand them and first accept those words in my life and then present those words to you all.
Your humble Brother in Christ
Jobin George
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