FireQuill Publications
The
Short Stories, Plays and Bible Studies of Kathy Kearney
The
Short Stories, Plays and Bible Studies of Kathy Kearney
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Abraham Times
ABRAHAM TIMES
By: Kathy Kearney (c) 2003
I have Abraham times.
A year ago I suffered an autoimmune collapse that resulted in swollen joints, (shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers), accompanied by severe atrophy of my leg and arm muscles. The pain was constant and depressing.
We had just moved to Arizona the week before it hit and down I went like a ton of bricks. No medication worked, no method of therapy reached it. I sat on the couch, a pain-filled sack of potatoes and wept in fear that my life was over; convinced that long years of pain and uselessness stretched before me.
But God assured my husband and me, along with others who were praying for me, that I would recover. The personal assurances came through specific promises in his Word. I did not seek them; they simply leaped off the pages into my heart and nestled there.
However, the events I faced seemed to mock the promises. The months rattled slowly along on the wheels of this affliction. I couldn’t sleep. My weight melted away. Time blurred into days of pain that seemingly outdistanced God’s promise. Walking deteriorated into a painful shuffle. Fingers so swollen and stiff that picking up a quarter of a sandwich was a weight lifting event. Showers were agony, dressing myself impossible. I never felt so worthless and finished in my entire life.
Then one day I read these verses in the fourth chapter of Romans: (28) In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become (29) a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, "(30) SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE." Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now (31) as good as dead since (32) he was about a hundred years old, and (33) the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, (34) giving glory to God, and (35) being fully assured that (36) what God had promised, He was able also to perform.
Abraham times arrive in two installments:
Part one:
Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now (31) as good as dead since (32) he was about a hundred years old, and (33) the deadness of Sarah's womb… Financial status perilous? Rebellious kids causing heartache? Job lost, house swept away? Car destroyed in an accident? A loved one dies or files for divorce? Life is turned upside down in a moment never to be the same again.
Are we to deny the tragedy and the realism of the events? No! We can—indeed we must, look at the facts just as Abraham did—his body was as good as dead. Faith is not denial, but admission. Faith is not blind, but eyes-wide-opened sight. Faith always assesses the facts. To do otherwise is to stumble in spiritual darkness and frustration compounded by guilt. Guilt? Oh yes, the enemy loves to tell us that looking at the facts is the equivalent of doubting. His greatest lie is that ignorant is bliss. Don’t believe him for a moment. Spiritual sanity depends on sanctified appraisal of reality held up to the light of God’s Word.
Part two: …yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, (34) giving glory to God, and (35) being fully assured that (36) what God had promised, He was able also to perform.
In the face of reality we choose to believe God. He is, after all, the great Reality.
Abraham times come to all of us. Life seems over, destroyed, or futile at first glance, but then we remember the promises of God. We know that He is in this and with us from beginning to end, keeping his promises to us, carrying us in his arms and turning evil into good. That’s when Abraham times become blessings.
I am recovering slowly. Often there is pain as healing takes place, especially on days when the weather turns me into one large barometer. But when painful days come I’m learning to say, (and I certainly haven’t mastered it yet), “Well, Lord, I am having an Abraham time.” Could it be that these times of learning and leaning are more important than the healing itself?
In all trial there is given to us one great promise: God will never leave or forsake us. If there is to be no healing, no restoration of that broken relationship, or recovery of loss, there remains the magnificent promise of his presence, his grace and his victory shining through the shards of our heartbreak and confusion.
Thank God for Abraham times. They are the places where God’s promises come to pass.
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