God is faithful. We can believe in His promises. But in the world we have levels of promises. This is because we use promises randomly. In this way, we don’t trust promises, because we can’t control everything. Yet, we can trust in the promises of God because He does control everything.

Unfortunately, we often get angry with God because we have been let down and promises have not been kept. However, are you looking to the world or His word when we get angry?

1 Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

We like to say we believe God is faithful, but do we really believe when we don’t live like it? We must remember that our actions don’t change the character of God. Thus, we can believe He is faithful.

We don’t have perfect faith, but our God is perfectly faithful. Our imperfect faith is not a representation of His faithfulness. Recognizing this disconnect is how we move from belief to action.

Abraham and Sarah entered into a promise of God. (note: God changed their names to Abraham and Sarah from Abram and Sarai on the other side of His fulfilled promises.)

Genesis 12:1-3 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.”

For 10 years God made the promise that they would have kids. But Sarah forgot about His faithfulness and took control of the situation.

Genesis 16:2 so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”

Sarai gave Abram her servant. She took the plan into her own hands, but her plan was not blessed. When we take God's plan into our hands we might be successful, but we are not blessed. And when we go to places God never told us to, we end up in relationships that were never meant for us.

Sarah created a mess, but that does not mean God's plan was done. God is faithful even when we try to take control. Our actions, outside of His promises, delay or forgo His blessings. Yet, God is making a way.

Have you noticed that Abraham is completely active in some instances of his faith, and then completely passive in others?

In the passage below Abraham tells Sarah to lie to spare his life, without considering the promise God had already made him.

Genesis 12:13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”

Then his passivity becomes the beginning of polygamy in the kingdom of God. When he takes Hagar into his bed based on Sarah’s suggestion.

God is prescriptive and descriptive. He is telling us something like, “we gotta look into it.” We need to look deeper than the surface. We need to seek Him to fortify our trust in His promise.

Yet, God is faithful even when we fail. We have to acknowledge our faults and ask for forgiveness. Then we are implored to forget it and move on, so that the past does not have a hold on us, driving guilt and shame that would keep us from His promises.

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Hold onto hope because we know that what God said it will happen. IT WILL HAPPEN.

As we look into another story of Abraham, the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac. We see there is more context that gives us deeper understanding.

Abraham was once a philistine and pagan cults and child sacrifice were normal to gain power. No wonder Abraham trusted and believed in God when God told Abraham to take Isaac to be sacrificed. The enemy will always give us what we want at the cost of our future and our legacy. Yet, God is so faithful He gave His son.

When we fail to comprehend the faithfulness of God, we fall for what the enemy offers.

Genesis 16:11-13 The angel of the Lord also said to her: “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” the angel of God came to Hagar as she left, single and pregnant.

He is also the one who sees me - Genesis 16:13. Abraham and Sarah always referred to Hagar as maid servant, but God referred to her by name. Hagar was never a follower of God. She was not pursuing God, but God was pursuing her. He is faithful to us all. He knows us and He hears us.

God is faithful. He knows your name and He hears your cries. The problem was always that there was sin in our relationship and sin separates us from God. So He sent His son to be the ultimate sacrifice so that sin would no longer be able to separate us from Him.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Philippians 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.