No Staggering

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, he had an encounter with YHWH that reminded him of a promise made by the One who never breaks promises. The Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless" (Genesis 17:1).

Abraham had received the promise from God, but many years had passed, and the aging process of his own body, as well as his wife’s, must have caused Abraham some concern – they were no spring chickens! But, God! God never breaks His promises!

YHWH spoke to Abraham, who told him three things:

If anything would make a man stagger, it would be the third word uttered by God: “Be blameless!”

The word blameless or perfect (Hebrew tamim) actually speaks of sincerity, loyalty, completeness, wholeness, unwavering, and entire. To be sincere, not to be double-minded, to be loyal, to place full allegiance in ... it was not a casual command. And, Abraham knew that quite well. In fact, Romans 4:20-22 reminds us that...

"No unbelief made him [Abraham] waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.”

Goodness! I'm not anywhere near 99 years old, but I cannot imagine the enormity of God's promise not causing me to stagger at least just a little bit!

But Abraham's unwavering faith was "counted to him as righteousness". Abraham trusted YHWH. He knew, one way or another, he was going to have a child with his wife, Sarah. But Abraham messed up! He considered the natural consequences of his age and tried to hurry God's promises along by listening to another voice.

How many times have we grown impatient with the Father? We understand His promises to us, yet when things don't happen our way in our time, we grow impatient. And, not much unlike Abraham, we look for ways to make things happen in our time, usually leading to regrettable consequences.

Abraham had a personal encounter with YHWH and received the promise. Years passed, and nothing happened. Yet he remained loyal until a voice of human reason led him to take matters into his own hands.

Abraham's example is a great lesson for those of us who need a move of God in our lives. Trust God. His timing may seem problematic to us, but He is faithful to His promises. We must remain tamim ... loyal and unwavering in faith, trusting God to fulfill every promise! He is worthy of our trust.

We also need to remember that, in Jesus, we are blameless before God. That doesn't mean we're perfect in our actions or our faith; it means our imperfect hearts are covered in His blood, washed clean, and purified. He is our righteousness. In Him we are blameless!

Prayer

Lord, help me in times when I stagger in unbelief. I want to be tamim ... steadfast in my loyalty to You, unwavering like Abraham. Father, I am so grateful for the blood of Jesus shed at Calvary that made it possible for me to stand before You as one who is blameless ... the price for my sin and imperfection has been paid in full. In Jesus' name, and for His glory, Amen!

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