A “through the bible” devotion from Genesis 15.
“Proof is easy. Faith is hard damn work.” – Johnny Prentiss
You’ve probably never heard of Johnny Prentiss. He was a character played by Penn Teller in the TV series “Code Black.” Johnny was a magician in the emergency room with a mass in his chest. As he waited for test results, he amazed doctors, nurses, and other patients with a deck of cards.
Over and over again, someone would ask him, “How did you do that?” Johnny answered, “I can’t imagine a world without magic.” For him, magic inspired hope and faith, things that he desperately needed to live.
God told Abram that a son from his own body would be his heir, the first of descendants as numerous as stars in the night sky. Amazingly, Abram believed God (Genesis 15:6).
If Abram had been standing there with his infant son in his arms, it would have been a lot easier to believe that he would be the father of a great nation. But on that night, all he had was God’s word. All he had was a promise.
Aren’t you pleasantly surprised when someone keeps a promise? I think we want to believe, but we’ve been let down too many times. But someone didn’t show up. Or they outright lied. A product didn’t work as advertised. The check wasn’t in the mail.
If someone says, “All you have to do is believe,” they know nothing of faith. Faith is indeed hard work. It means setting aside what you know to be true to embrace what God says is true. Faith is humbling. Faith rarely make sense. Faith is often terrifying. Faith is tough.
But faith is where a relationship with God begins. “God counted it to [Abram] as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).
You can watch Season 2 Episode 9 of Code Black on Amazon Prime Video. Thanks for reading this “through the bible” devotion.
Waite for it... 