Rom 4:19-20
19 And without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; 20 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God,
NASB
At one point in my life I thought it was necessary to deny circumstantial reality in order to maintain a positive faith confession. If I had a cold, in order to contend for healing it was necessary for me to NOT say “I have a cold”. Somehow I felt this would jinx me. All that changed when I took a look at the NASB translation (a very literal translation) of this verse in Romans. According to Paul, part of Abraham’s journey of faith involved an intentional contemplation of the impossibility of his natural circumstances. Rather than denying them, he thought deeply about them. He contemplated them.
Genuine faith doesn’t need to deny circumstantial reality. Genuine faith simply acknowledges a greater reality. Faith, instead of denying Goliath’s existence, chooses rather to face Goliath head on in the field of battle. Faith confronts Goliath. Faith sees Goliath for what he is but also sees God for who He is.
Denial happens when I choose to see only God’s reality fearing that if I realistically view my circumstances they will overshadow the bigness of God. Unbelief is simply another expression of this same fear, choosing to see only my circumstances but not the reality of God’s greatness and power.
True faith courageously faces the reality of circumstances, but chooses to see them contrasted with and in light of the greatness and goodness of God.
