Imperfect Saints

Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!

Mark 9:24

None of the “heroes of the faith” described in Hebrews 11 was perfect. They all had lapses in their faith. Take Abraham. When a famine struck Canaan, he rushed to Egypt, where he became so fearful he lied about his wife (Genesis 12:10–20). How did Abraham recover? In Genesis 13:1–4, he returned to his altar at Bethel, “and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.”

When we realize our faith is faltering, we need to go back to our place of commitment, and call on the name of our Lord. The Christian statesman George Müller was a spiritual giant, but this is what he once said about his faith:

My faith is the same faith which is found in every believer. It has been increased little by little for the last 26 years. Many times when I could have gone insane from worry, I was at peace because my soul believed the truth of God’s promises. God’s Word, together with the whole character of God . . . settles all questions. His unchangeable love and His infinite wisdom calmed me. I knew, “God is able and willing to deliver me.” It is written, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)