Abraham is the first name that comes to mind when we start talking about faith. He is the father of our faith. Taking a closer look at his life tells you what you need to know about faith. God first approached him when he was 75 years old. God told him that he will be a father of many nations and he will bless him. On that word Abraham obeyed and left his home. That right there takes a lot of faith, because God did not tell him where they were going to go. All God told him was let us go. Hebrews 11:10, “…for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” That is the home Abraham was looking for when he left his homeland. He did not know where he will find it, but he believed it is out there somewhere.

            Along this journey of faith that he was on, he gave birth to Ishmael, and he lied to different kings. Also, in this journey he created a covenant with God. The result of this journey of faith was Abraham finally got to the place where he could have Isaac. We celebrate him for that, but we fail to realize that this was a 25-year-old journey. That is why we must be patient with ourselves. God’s promises will come to pass in our lives for as long we do what Abraham did in his 25-year-old journey.

            In this journey, he developed a relationship with God. That is the key to faith. It is not how many scriptures of faith I have memorized, but do I know the Promise Giver. The deeper Abraham got to know God; the more significant things happened in his life. Abraham’s most pivotal moment came after he defeated the kings who had taken Lot, his nephew, in battle. After the victory Abraham did two things that prompted God to visit him that night and create a covenant with him.

            Abraham had communion with Melchizedek in remembrance of what God told him when they first met. This was Abraham showing thanks to God for giving him this victory. The other significant thing Abraham did was he refused taking anything from the King of Sodom; because he did not want the King of Sodom taking credit for anything God does in his life. These things happened in Genesis 14, then the next chapter, Abraham made a covenant with God. Chapter 16 reminds us that this is a journey. In that chapter Ishmael was born. This reminds us that even after significant things happen with God, if our next step is failure, its totally okay because this is a marathon not a sprint.

Hebrews 10:39, “But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.”