If you read the history of Abraham, you will see that, even though people call him a “giant of faith”, he was not such a big “giant” (actually, God is the giant of faith). All his “great steps” were taken in faith after God appeared to him.
It looks like just after God appears to Abraham and spends some time with him (some of which time is recorded in the Bible), Abraham is somehow empowered and motivated to take a further step.
We all know that, as you spend time with someone (especially if that someone is a very influential/great person) you are being changed positively. In the same way, God’s appearing to Abraham transfused His element into Abraham, and this caused a reaction in his being – he believed!
God’s continual appearing to Abraham resulted in an accumulated infusion, a constitution of faith, so that eventually he was able to take greater steps/decisions for the Lord – all as a result of the Lord’s repeated appearing to Abraham.
We need the Lord to appear to us – by us spending time with Him and not rushing this, but just enjoying Him in His Word, by exercising our spirit. As we spend time with Him, God transfuses Himself into us – the elements of His being are being transfused into us (His heart’s desire, His intentions, His mind, His will – all are being transfused into us).
As His element gets into us, without us knowing this, it begins to work in us, to infuse us with His intentions, His desires, and the reaction we have to this is that we believe! As we are being saturated and permeated with God’s element, we simply believe.
Faith is not a natural virtue we have and then we need to develop: faith is actually a reaction to the appearing of God to us. It does not originate with us, and we don’t have it naturally: it is God Himself coming into us, working in us, and becoming our believing ability to believe in us, for us, and as us!
And this kind of faith, the Bible says, was accounted as righteousness to Abraham (Gen. 15:6)!
Even in our Christian life, for us to go on day by day, we need the Lord’s appearing. As we seek Him – and even as He seeks to reveal Himself to us, as He seeks us through all kinds of circumstances – and as He appears to us, He is being transfused into us, and we are being infused with His divine element into our whole being.
There is a spontaneous reaction to this heavenly appearing and attraction: we love Him more, we are empowered to take a further step, and we are supplied to continue in our Christian walk. This also strengthens our organic union with Him (as we are branches abiding in the vine).
The long term effect and result of our having this repeated appearing of the Lord is a constitution in the deepest part of our being – we become filled with faith, as we are being infused with His element repeatedly.
This constitution of faith, since it is us, our being, can never be denied or taken away – it is forever part of us. We daily need to enjoy Him and spend time with Him so that we may be gradually constituted with Him, until we eventually become like Him, even Him in life and nature, but not in the Godhead!
