“When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” Then Abram fell on his face.” (Genesis 17:1–3, ESV)
When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him … “Walk before me … that I may multiply you greatly.”God is the God of the impossible, the incomprehensible, and the ridiculous. Can you see the silliness of these words?
Here’s a man who is 99 years old … and the New Testament tells us that he is past the ability to father children (Romans 4:19). And yet God hasn’t begun to work with him. God was about to give Abraham many sons, especially Isaac, the son of the covenant. At 99 years old God was just getting started with Abraham.
When God spoke to Abraham, “He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.” (Romans 4:19, ESV)
God has a plan for our lives. He isn’t done with us. He hasn’t even begun yet. I mean, Abraham had done so much and God had blessed Him so, yet, as most would be ready for retirement and death, Abraham rose to the occasion. He chose to believe God for a bigger, brighter future … at age 99! He chose to be a believer, not a doubter.
Our situation may look dead. We may be thinking things are winding down. It could be possible we’ve given up on our God-implanted dreams and visions that we once had. Abraham tells us not to, “weaken in faith.” The deadness of our situation means little to the Lord of life. Today is a great day to fall to our knees and cry out to Jesus for that resurrection power.
Turn-around comes from God. He “is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.” (Ephesians 3:20, ESV) The question is this: Are we asking? Are we imagining greater things? God loves it when we choose the impossible. When we can’t God can. When it’s impossible for us it’s easy for Him. Will we choose to be a believer today?
Turn-Around Tuesdays are designed to bring hope and help, insight and encouragement to those of us who are simply overwhelmed by the flood of problems life throws at us. No one is immune to trials and troubles, but God has a way of lifting us from life’s torrents. Each short thought is written by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Executive Director of Eagles In Leadership, and comes from his life-journey with the God who never leaves us or forsakes us. He welcomes your comments below.
