Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Genesis 15:6

I love this nugget from my reading this morning!!

I think that a lot of times…when we hear the word “righteous” or “righteousness”…we tend to think of people that come across as “holier than thou”…people that think and act like they’re pretty near perfect.

Abraham was not that! He faltered in his faith. He lied about Sarah being his wife out of fear. He allowed his wife to abuse her servant… the servant that he got pregnant because He doubted God’s promise to give him a son.

Abraham was not perfect by any means.

That’s the beauty in this verse. God knows we’re not perfect! When I read Abraham’s story, I wonder how many times God must’ve shaken His head at Abraham’s shenanigans… and then I quickly remember that we’re just like Abraham! If someone read the story of our lives, they’d feel the same way as we do when we read about Abraham.

God is so patient and gracious with us. He credits His perfection to our account when we believe in Him, though!

God reveals so many things about Himself in chapters 14-17. He reveals that He’s God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. He tells Abraham that He’s his shield & that Abraham doesn’t need to be afraid. In chapter 16, we see with Hagar that He’s the God who pursues and sees the one who’s broken and mistreated. He reveals that He’s God Almighty.

Abraham believes that God is who He says He is…and THAT is what God is pleased with… and He credits Abraham’s account with His righteousness because of it. Despite all of Abraham’s failures.

It’s not our perfection that He wants, although the more we get to know God’s character, the more we desire to look like Him… and that’s what changes us. It’s our belief in Him that He wants. Sometimes, our faith will falter. We’ll doubt that He is who He says He is.

But the longer we walk with Him, we will see that He continues to prove Himself true and faithful.

In Genesis 17:1, God tells Abraham to “live in His presence and be blameless.”

“Blameless” as a human in this fallen world is impossible…and God knows well enough that we’ll mess up. Another translation for blameless here is “complete”…when we live in God’s presence, we CAN be complete! He’s everything that we need, and the more we get to know Him and live in His presence, the more we are assured of that.

Blameless can also be translated here as “wholesome” or “having integrity”… which is how we are called to live as believers. The more we’re living in God’s presence, the more He changes us to look like Him.

So…insert your name here…____________ believed the Lord, and he credited it to him/her as righteousness.❤️

Lord…thank you for Your grace and patience with me…thank you for giving me Your righteousness in exchange for my belief in You!! Keep me in Your presence and change me to look more like You today.❤️