After the rescue of Lot and the subsequent encounter with the priest of Melchizedek, Abram was again visited by God. God promised Abram a great reward, but Abram’s heart was troubled. Abram was still without a child to inherit his accumulated wealth. Without a child, it would all pass to someone who worked for Abram. God reassured Abram that Abram would have a son and from that son would come more children and children of children and so forth until there would be so many that their number would be like the stars Abram could see in the night sky.
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
Genesis 15:1-6, ESV
If we stopped right there, we could marvel at God’s incredible promise. However, verse 6 has something more incredible in it. Abram believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness! Abram didn’t accomplish a task or finish a project. He didn’t lift a hand. He simply believed. Sure, the promise seemed incredible. As incredible as it was, in that moment, Abram trusted God to deliver the promise. God counted that belief as righteousness. Even more incredible, right?
But let’s unpack that some more. If you know what happens in Abram’s life, you know that his first son was not from Sarai, but from her servant, Hagar. During those events, rather than trusting God and His promise, Abram agreed to Sarai’s suggestion, took her servant and had a child, and thereby caused strife in the household until eventually Hagar and Ishamel left. So God counted this act of belief as righteousness even knowing that later on Abram wouldn’t count on this promise and he would do something that would eventually lead to generation and generations of strife and fighting, even to the present day.
God is the same way with us. Abram didn’t earn that righteousness. He didn’t deserve that righteousness. It was credited to him. That’s grace in action. Similarly, when we believe God, the righteousness that is credited to us is also grace in action. From the moment of first believe onward, everything is grace. Our crowns we are promised? Grace. Entrance into the throne room of the Almighty to speak with Him through prayer? Grace. Grace abounds all around us if we pause long enough to consider all the undeserved and unmerited blessings and promises God gives us. Rejoice, for our faith is counted as righteousness just as Abram’s was. Rejoice, because God is a promise keeper and just as He made promises to Abram, He has made a lot of promises to us, too. Of course, the most important promise is Jesus and what He has done to save us. Be encouraged, because God will deliver based on who He is, not who we are. God does it in spite of our sin or times when we are weak in our faith. Be encouraged, because just as He stayed true to Abram despite Abram failing in his faith, He will be true to us, too.
Be Encouraged Devotionals 