Be Careful Where You Put Your But

Abraham’s faith never became weak, not even when he was nearly a hundred years old. He knew that he was almost dead and that his wife Sarah could not have children. But Abraham never doubted or questioned God’s promise. His faith made him strong, and he gave all the credit to God. Abraham was certain that God could do what he had promised. - Romans 4:19-21 CEV

We all know that the word “but” negates, or changes what comes before it. So if tell my wife or one of my children that, “I love you, but you drive me crazy,” my main point is that “you drive me crazy.” (The “I love you” was only intended to soften it up a bit.) The “I love you” statement is negated by “you drive me crazy,” so that the latter statement is the stronger one.

If I were to reverse my sentence to, “you drive me crazy, but I love you,” it changes the entire point to mean that, in spite of the fact that you drive me crazy, I love you. So where you place your “but” is crucial to your point and, as we’ll see, to your faith. Let’s look at Romans 4:19-21 and see where Abraham placed his.

We know from the Genesis account that Sarah had a difficult time believing what God had promised her husband. I can imagine Abraham trying to reassure her by saying, “I know I’m nearly dead and so is your womb, but I’m certain that God has the power to do what he’s promised.”

Suppose instead he had told her, “I’m sure God has the power to do what he’s promised, but I’m nearly dead and so is your womb.” Do you think he’d be called “the father of us all... who are of the faith of Abraham” (Rom. 4:16) if he had?

We ought to have the faith of Abraham when we speak, but instead we say things like:

“I know God promises to provide for us, but I don’t know how we’ll make ends meet this month.”

“I know the God promises to protect us, but all these burglaries in the neighborhood really have me worried.”

“I know God has promised to forgive me, but I’ve really blown it this time.”

“I know the Bible says God loves me, but I really don’t feel like He does.”

What you’re doing by making statements such as these is walking by sight, not by faith. You’re focused on the bills, the burglaries, your behavior, and how you feel. But faith is literally what is unseen:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. - Heb 11:1-3 KJV

I cannot “see” God’s protection, his provision, his forgiveness, or his love with my physical senses. The word “substance” in this passage comes from the Greek word hypostasis, which means “that which stands beneath” (i.e., a foundation). Greek philosophers such as Aristotle used it to speak of the objective reality of a thing, its inner reality, as opposed to outer form.

So the outer form of a thing might be: “There’s been a lot of burglaries in the neighborhood recently.” But the inner (i.e., unseen) reality is: “God promises to protect us.” (Ps 91)

Focusing on that is walking by faith, not by sight.