V-8 engines in cars and trucks make them powerful, and run smoothly. But Henry Ford’s engineers initially told him that building a V-8 engine was impossible. But at Ford’s insistence, they kept experimenting, and over a year later, they finally came up with that powerful engine. God tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son on an altar—a request that seemed impossible if God was going to keep his promise to give Abraham many descendants. Yet Abraham did not hesitate to obey. Hebrews 11 tells us “Abraham obeyed God because he reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again.” Abraham knew he did not need to understand how God would keep his promise, he just knew that when God speaks, he should obey and leave the outcome to God. Faith is believing what God has said even when we cannot see how God will pull off what he promises. Of course, the key lies in believing what God has said—what He has promised in His Word. Jesus said, is that not even a sparrow can fall to the ground without the knowledge and consent of your heavenly Father. He then assures us that we are of far greater value than many sparrows. Since we know we are precious to God and God is trustworthy, we can be sure God is present with us even when it seems as if God has forsaken us.
Dr. Melvin E. Banks, Sr. is the founder and chairman of UMI (Urban Ministries, Inc.). Under his direction, UMI has grown to be a leading publisher of Christian education resources for churches in the African American community. Read More
