Abraham. He is the founding father of the Jews and is held in high regard in the Christian faith. The first time we are introduced to him is as Abram, in Genesis 11: 27-31.
This is the account of Terah’s family line. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive. Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there.
Until an encounter with the Lord, he seems to have lived a very normal life – as a son and husband. Nothing really stood out about his life that was worth recording until his divine encounter, and it is from this encounter which is recorded in Genesis 12:1-4 that we learn the first secret to his wealth:
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation,and I will bless you;I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.
1.He believed God
When Abram received this instruction from God, he was 75 years old (Genesis 12:4). He had no children and outwardly he had no reason to believe that he, at his age, could still become a great nation. But, Abram chose not to look at himself and his circumstances as proof of what God was saying. He chose to look at God and believe Him based purely on His Word. God made him a promise and so he believed. Naive..? Yes! Yet that was all that was needed for him to unlock the great promises the Lord had made to him.
What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God , and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Romans 4:3 (NIV)
Hebrews 11:8-12 highlights this belief Abraham had in God, each time God made him a promise:
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
No wonder, Abraham is often referred to a the father of faith.
Your Turn
Faith, believing in the Word and promises of God is the first step to unlocking wealth.
Why? As per Romans 4:23, God credits faith in Him as righteousness and we know as per Matthew 6:33:
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
God may not speak to you in an audible voice, as He did to Abraham, but He speaks to you daily through His Word. Do you believe His Word? Do you believe the promises He has made you in His Word?
If you do, know that believing God is a great key that unlocks true divine wealth. If you believe in God, but have a hard time believing Him, know that you are limiting yourself from experiencing all that God has for you.
Do you believe God?
