Faith That Works When We Are Old

Abram was 99.

The Lord appeared him.

The Lord said…

“I am Almighty God;

Walk before Me.

Be blameless.

And I will make My covenant between Me and you.

I will multiply you exceedingly.”

Abram fell on his face.

God talked with him, saying…

“As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you.

You shall be a father of many nations.

No longer shall your name be called Abram.

Your name shall be Abraham;

For I have made you a father of many nations.

I will make you exceedingly fruitful;

I will make nations of you,

Kings shall come from you.

I will establish My covenant between Me and you…

Between your descendants after you in their generations.

An everlasting covenant!

To be God to you and your descendants after you.

I give to you and your descendants after you…

The land in which you are a stranger,

All the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession;

And I will be their God.” [1]

“Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” [2]

What struck me about these two passages is that Abraham was 99 years old when the Lord appeared to Him and made wonderful promises to Him. The Lord told him that he would be a father of many offspring. God would bring forth kings and nations from this man of faith. Nothing is too hard for the Lord.

Later, “…Abraham still stood before the Lord. And Abraham came near and said, ‘Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?’ ‘Suppose ten should be found there?’ And He said, ‘I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.’” [3]

God helped Abraham to forgive Lot. Abraham did not live in the cities that God planned to destroy. His nephew Lot whose workers strove with Abraham’s workers lived there. Even so, Abraham asked the Lord to spare the twin cities if even 10 righteous people lived there. Surely, Lot, his family and his servants were more than 10 people.

Sadly, Lot’s servants are not mentioned after their city’s destruction. What happened to them?

Lot chose the richest land and left his uncle with the cheaper property. Now, Abraham has 118 servants. Lot seems to have none.

Though there were not 10 righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah, the Lord did send angels to get Lot’s family out before the fire fell. This was God’s answer to Abraham’s prayer.

Abraham lived by faith in God. Faith in God does not depend on one’s youthfulness. The Lord says of Abraham, “Not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness.’” [4]

Faith is powerful even in our old age. Faith depends on God Almighty’s unlimited power. When Abraham chose faith in God over the best land, he made the best choice.

[1] Genesis 17:1-8
[2] Genesis 18:14
[3] Genesis 18:22-23, 32
[4] Romans 4:19-22