Believing God

Sometimes, believing God can be pretty difficult. We know God’s promises. We know what he has said. And yet, our circumstances can sometimes make it difficult to hold on to these things.

In Japan, for instance, the population of Christians is very small, less than one percent. And the ratio of female to male Christians in Japan is highly disproportionate in favor of the women.

This is great for the men, I suppose, but a big problem for women who are looking for someone to marry.

They know God’s admonition not to marry a non-Christian, but with the choices so limited, it’s sometimes difficult to believe God will provide someone, especially if they’ve been waiting a long time.

And so I know a number of Japanese women who just gave up and married a non-Christian.

Unfortunately, many of them find that while they’ve solved one problem, they’ve invited a number of other problems into their lives as they deal with living with a man who is not following Christ, and all the pressures and struggles that come with it.

Abram faced a similar choice. To believe God or not. God had promised him that if he would leave his land and go where God told him, that he would become a great nation. But at this point, he was in his seventies, and he still didn’t have a son.

Now God comes again and says to him, “I am your great reward” (NIV) or “Your reward will be very great.” (NASB)

I tend to think the latter translation is better, considering Abram’s response.

Abram basically answered, “How can you say that? I don’t have any kids. I’m getting up there in age. Everything I have is going to be inherited by my servant? How can you say my reward is going to be great? Where is the blessing that you promised me.”

God answered, “This man won’t be your heir. Look at the sky. Count all the stars in the sky if you can. That’s what your descendants will be like.”

That must have been tough to swallow. “I have no kids. My wife is getting older. And my descendants are going to be like the stars in the sky?”

But Abram made a decision. What was it?

“I’m going to choose to believe God.”

Abraham was not perfect. He failed many times in his life. There were many times he didn’t trust in God.

His failures with Pharaoh and Abimelech were just two of them. But at this place, and at this time, he said, “I’m going to choose to believe God.”

And that pleased God.

More than anything else, God wants us to trust him. It was what he asked of Adam and Eve.

“You can eat from any tree in the garden, but don’t eat from that tree. Trust me. I’m only looking out for your best.”

And it was broken trust that led to their broken relationship with him.

In Hebrews 11:6, it says,

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Most of us believe that God exists. But do we really believe that he is looking out for our best? Do we really believe that he will reward us if we trust him? That’s the key question.

For many of the Japanese women that married non-Christians, the answer was no.

It’s hard to condemn them because loneliness is a difficult thing. And when you’ve been waiting a long time with no end in sight, it gets very hard to believe anymore.

Even Abraham had trouble believing under those circumstances as chapter 16 bears out.

But if we want a close relationship with God, we need to settle this one question in our heart. “Do I believe him?”

Maybe you have failed in the past. You didn’t trust him, and you made bad decisions as a result.

Take heart from the life of Abraham. He also made bad decisions because he didn’t trust God. But God didn’t give up on him. And he won’t give up on you.

If you want to get right with God, all you have to do is come to him and say, “God, I’ve failed. I’m sorry. But I come to you today, and I just want to say, ‘I believe in you.'”

And just as God credited Abraham with righteousness for his faith despite his failures, he will do the same with you.