Your Happy Dance

That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 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. No unbelief made him 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. (Romans 4:16-21 ESV).

As I help us break into our happy dance because it’s Friday, can I dig a little deeper so that we can celebrate as much on Monday through Thursday? I know this may have been the week that ends all weeks as far as challenges are concerned. It may be that things started out messed up on Monday and each day seemed to get worse. The more you tried to untie the knot of mistakes, disappointment and failure, the tighter the knot became. It may be that there was one challenge on top of another and you seem to have reached your breaking point. The end of this day will be a signal to just breathe and start over on Monday. I’ve had those kinds of weeks. In fact, I’ve had those kinds of years! Sometimes life is just like that. Sometimes we can identify the direct results of our sin, failure, and disobedience. Sometimes, we don’t see any connection, things are just messed up. Circumstances just seem to swell to a depth that we simply cannot continue to tread the depth any longer and sinking seems like a wonderful alternative. We do have hope. It is not just that the weekend has arrived. With a brief review of Abraham’s life (c.f. Genesis 12-16), it is very clear he did not live a peaceful, trouble-free life. He certainly made mistakes. He also was responsible for some of his bad times. But there were other times when he was the picture of faithfulness and still life seemed to rise up to drown him in trouble. It’s these times in his life that we learn much about faith under stress. It all revolved around his “trust.” Go back to our reading today. Look at the “trust”: Paul talks about “hope believed”; “without weakening”; “did not waver”; “strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God”; and “fully persuaded.” That’s an incredible picture of trusting. Through all of this he kept trusting in God (v. 21). Through all his mistakes, sins and failures, Abraham kept on trusting. And God “credited it to him as righteousness.” He does the same for you and me. With that truth firmly entrenched in your heart and soul… please resume your happy dance!