7 March 2026

Abraham was obedient but he also exercised tremendous endurance. The writer to the Hebrews captures this beautifully when he describes Abraham and his descendants as ‘strangers and foreigners on the earth’.

Abraham remained forever unsettled, uprooted, vulnerable. He was a stranger. He didn’t belong. He was a foreigner. He lived by different rules.

But he didn’t give up. His endurance was sustained not only by the promise but by God’s continual confirmation that his promise would be fulfilled.

Abraham lived for a quarter of a century in this uncertain and uncomfortable place. God had made a promise. ‘I will make you a great nation.’ But when was he ever going to fulfil it?

Sarah is barren. Abraham is old. They have no children. And even when a son is born, this hardly constitutes a great nation nor fulfils the promise of the starry sky and the sandy seashore!

In his obedience, there was much uncertainty. In his endurance, there was much loneliness. Abraham no longer belonged. He was a stranger and foreigner. All he had was a promise.