Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Finding the Pony

Romans 4:13-25
The old joke goes like this: put a pessimistic child in a room full of toys and he will complain that the one particular item he wants is not there, but put an optimistic child in a room full of horse manure and she’ll happily begin looking for the pony. Paul puts it another way. “[Abraham] did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body,” we read, “which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised” (Romans 4:19-21). In other words Abraham may have seen a room full of manure, but that only meant there was a pony somewhere.

I admit that I am too often like the cynical child, able to find disappointment virtually anywhere. But Paul wants me—and you—to take heart no matter what the circumstances. In Abraham, he says, we find not only one who lived by faith, but in whose faith we find a source of strength for ourselves. Like the father in Mark 9:24 I find myself saying, “I believe, help my unbelief,” and God does, time after time, in countless situations. No, I don’t always find a pony, but by grace I know it must be there somewhere.

Prayer: Lord, help us to live by faith and to trust you at all times. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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