'Considering' Faith

11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.     —Hebrews 11:11

We’re back to the subject of faith, no, not because other topics are lacking or lackluster, I just can’t get past this one. Perhaps it’s because I have so little faith and want more. That’s certainly part of it. But aside from that, why it beckons our contemplation, it’s the thing which brings Him pleasure and us eternity. We do incredibly well, then, to meditate on it, in hopes of realizing His glorification and our gain. The book of Hebrews goes to great depths to explain what faith is, how to receive it, and what it tangibly looks like in the world. Considering, reread the verse above.

Though rarely quoted or commented on, Hebrews 11:11 stands out. It lays out a rather basic equation of how faith works, or at least should. Now Sarah gets a bad rap for laughing when Abraham told her God was giving them a child…and she did suggest her husband lie with a slave girl, but let’s not quickly dismiss what she went through here. She had been barren her entire life. No doubt this grieved her greatly. Because of this, it’s possible she felt worthless, rejected, even scorned. For most of her life Sarah might have been thinking, How could God withhold childbearing from me, a woman who wanted nothing more? Based on surface facts it’s easy to put Sarah on the periphery of the great cloud of witnesses, but the truth is, I want to emulate her faith.

Ultimately, Sarah did the one thing which gave her the faith to receive the power to conceive—she considered God. And in considering Him, she knew Him to be faithful, worthy of her trust. So she believed in God’s promise and bore Isaac—the wrinkled, grandma-aged woman whose womb was full of cobwebs, by faith, became the mother, if you will, of all nations.

When it comes down to it, having faith and acting upon it heavily involves ‘considering.’ Maybe you haven’t thought of it that way before. I hadn’t. Often when situations in my life have called for faith I’ve only momentarily or casually considered Him who is able to do more than I could ask or imagine. And I wonder why my faith is feeble? In a bizarre way, exactly when faith is required I have the tendency to first focus on myself instead of on the One who authors and perfects it.

Faith grows (awakens?) when we consider God, not the circumstance, and certainly not ourselves. But what do we think about when we consider Him? We should consider His characteristics and His promises, which are profound as they are many. Sarah considered the faithfulness of God, how He had shown Himself faithful to them in the past. So God’s exemplified love and sovereign plan gave her the faith to believe she would conceive. She wasn’t godly in her initial response (she, like me, probably thought of herself first), but she eventually considered the LORD and, in so doing, made it to the Hall of Faith!

While God’s attributes are many, there is one truth we should immediately and unquestioningly consider: He is the Lord of lords. Without sounding cheesy, He is the Master of the Universe—indeed, He literally holds it together by the power of His word. He is powerful to save our souls—certainly powerful to come through for us in our present need. And He is good. So good. His plan for us is for our gain, our eternal good, even in the face of a world trying to convince us otherwise.

In order to consider Him well, we have to know Him well. Without knowledge of Him, His ways, His purpose, it is difficult to act in faith. Sarah knew Him. She and Abraham talked to Him, communed with Him, and followed in His ways. Today, we have two ways to know Him. First, we have His Word. He has revealed Himself to us through the Bible. Our sole purpose in studying the Bible is to intimately know the Savior of our soul. Through it we become acquainted with the God of old—the One who is the same yesterday, today, forever. Second, we have His Spirit, who helps our once-blind heart see His hand in our life (whether we’ve acknowledged it or not, it’s been there!). By His grace I have seen multiple instances of His divine intervention—evidences of His sovereign (and unique) plan for my life. I harken back to them to consider Him who is faithful, giving me the faith to take heart and press on.

Last point: our faith in Him is for His glory. That’s why faith is so important. Sarah’s pregnancy and motherhood was ordained for the exultation of the Most High God. Just the same, when we have faith in God—in His purpose, His plan, His power and provision—we showcase His majesty to the watching world. That’s the beauty of it all. Circumstances couldn’t be more inconsequential—whether good or bad, happy or sad, we can have faith. When we do, He gets glory. And His purpose (ours too, if we’d only realize it!) is fulfilled.

So often life’s events make it difficult to trust, to fully and firmly believe in Him who is able. But that’s only due to our lack of knowledge and consideration. Of any, we have no reason to doubt, no reason to worry. We are His people, children of the King.

If two sparrows are sold for a penny, how much more valuable to Him are we?

Grace to you, to awaken your faith by considering the King,

Voice of another