29/04/2022 - WISE DECISION OF THE PSALMIST

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I will remember the works of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. Psalm 77:11

After wandering around, full of doubts, Asaph came to the conclusion that it would be better to remember the deeds of the Most High. His decision serves as a benchmark for everyone. When we think of what was done in the days of Old – and they were wonderful things – we bring to mind the Lord’s desire: to help man to stand upright and come closer to Him. Away from the Creator we have nothing but trouble all the time; close to Him – we experience victory!

By turning back our attention to the divine works and meditating on them, our faith is greatly increased and we can command evil to leave. However, if our faith is little or small, even if we plead for help, nothing will be done. This is the lesson we learn from the cry of the two blind men in Matthew 9:27. They followed Jesus asking for mercy, but the Master only answered them when they entered the house. Let the Lord come into your life and your faith will grow.

The biblical examples were chosen by God, so that through them we would learn how important it is to have faith. Without it, we cannot even reach Him (Hebrews 11:6). It is not by crying out a lot that we will be heard, but by faith. The Scriptures declare: But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin  (Romans 14:23).

We don’t know how hard Abraham prayed that Sarah would become pregnant, but it didn’t happen until he turned to God and pleaded for a son, saying that the Damascene butler would be his heir. Then, the Most High told him: When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless (Genesis 17:1). He was 99 years old and he believed.

For God there are no insolvable problems. Even if Sarah died at 970 years of age, passing the age of Methuselah, the Lord was powerful to resurrect her and make her a mother. Apparently, the divine plan was being delayed because of Abraham and it would not be fulfilled until he changed. This made God tell him that two basic things were missing for the promise to be fulfilled: walking in His presence and being perfect in what had been revealed to him. Be vigilant!

Sarah received by faith the virtue of being a mother, something that no doctor in the world would tell her. But the Lord revealed this to Abraham. The couple must have had a good spiritual conversation and prayed. Thus, she believed: By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised (Hebrews 11:11). To men this is impossible, but everything is possible to God. Pray, believe and receive!

Understand: believing is not a mental assent, in which one agrees that the work will be done, but an acting on what God reveals in the Word. Abraham was already dead (Hebrews 11:12). He too believed, revived, and Isaac was born. Thirty-seven years later, Sarah died, and the patriarch still had the blessing of being a father. He married Keturah and they had six more children (Genesis 25:1,2). Hallelujah!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares