Scripture: "The Lord appeared to Abraham, and said unto him: 'I am God Almighty: walk before Me, and be thou perfect. And I wilt multiply thee exceedingly.'"—GEN. xvii. 1, 2.
In Abraham we see how God not only asks for faith, and rewards faith, but also how He works faith by the gracious training that He gives. When God first called him, He at once gave the great promise, "In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. xii. 3). When he reached the land, God met him with the promise that the land should be his (Gen. xii. 7). When Abraham returned from the battle against the kings, God again met him to renew the promise (xv. 5). Before the birth of Isaac, in the words of our text, He sought to strengthen his faith (Gen. xvii.). And once more in the plains of Mamre, He spoke: "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" Step by step God led him until his faith was perfected for full obedience in the sacrifice of Isaac. As "by faith Abraham obeyed to go out," so by faith, at the close of forty years, he was able, without any promise, in fact in apparent conflict with all the promises to obey God's will to the very uttermost.
Children of Abraham, children of God, the Father makes great demands on your faith. If you are to follow in Abraham's footsteeps, you too are to forsake all, to live in the land of spiritual promise, with nothing but His word to depend upon, separated unto God. For this you will need a deep and clear insight that the God Who is working in you is the Almighty Who will work all His good pleasure. Do not think that it is a little thing and easy, to live the life of faith. It needs a life that seeks to abide in His presence all the day. Bow before God in humble worship, until He speaks to you too: "I am God Almighty: walk before Me, and be thou perfect. And I will multiply thee exceedingly." When Abraham heard this, he "fell on his face: and God talked with him." There you have the secret birthplace of the power to trust God for everything that He promises.
In this little book we desire to find out what the power of faith is, and what God is willing to work, "according to the exceeding greatness of His power in us who believe." So only can we go out like Abraham when we are called to a life of true consecration to God, and of the obedience of faith to the very uttermost. Walk in the footsteps of Abraham. Hide deep in your heart the testimony of God's Word: "He was strong in faith, giving glory to God; being fully persuaded, that what He had promised, He was able to perform."
