“The Lord said to Abram…” – Genesis 12:1
Faith is a fuzzy concept until it is lived out in real life. When the Bible sets out to define faith, it doesn’t begin by saying, “faith is…” as the dictionary does. It begins with “the Lord said to Abram.” Very personal. Deeply human. To define faith, the Bible begins by telling the story of one man’s journey. Over the next few weeks, we’ll follow along the path of faith that one man walked, and we won’t just come to a definition of faith, we’ll be challenged to live a life of faith.
For today, note that the journey of faith begins with God speaking. Abram had many gods. Gods for the harvest, for the rains, for the family. The most important god was the moon. It dominated his imagination…until that day. The God spoke. Not the statues. Not the moon. The Creator God spoke to him, and Abram’s journey began.
How do you know if a god is real? It speaks. The One True God speaks to all kinds of people. God speaks to pagan Mesopotamians like Abram, and he speaks to religious Americans. This is the gospel, the good news. God speaks to whomever He chooses, not just the religious or good people, but to wicked and pagan people. It doesn’t matter where you are. The journey of faith begins for everyone at the same place…God spoke to me.
You will not know real faith until you know that God has spoken. What is God speaking to you today? Keep a journal this year of what you have heard from the Lord. It can be a remarkably faith-strengthening experience.
Think These Things 