Consider what Romans 4 says of Abraham. He was chosen by God to receive His covenant promises. He was told that his offspring would be like the sand on the seashore. Yet his wife was a very old woman, way beyond child-bearing age, and he had not yet given birth to the son who would carry on his line.
Romans 4 tells us something significant about Abraham's heart. When you and I are called by God to wait for an extended period as Abraham was, our story is often a chronicle of ever-weakening faith. The longer we think about what we are waiting for, the longer we consider how we have no ability to deliver it. The longer we have to let ourselves wonder why we have been selected to wait, the more our faith weakens.
Not so with Abraham. We're told in this passage that during this time of protracted waiting his faith actually grew stronger. Rather than meditating on the impossibility of his situation, Abraham meditated on the power and character of the One who made the promise. The more Abraham let his heart bask in the glory of God, he grew convinced he was in good hands. Rather than a cycle of discouragement and hopelessness, Abraham's story was one of encouragement and hope.
- Paul Tripp, The Man Behind the Ministry
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