The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

When we look at the lives of Abraham (the Father of Faith, the Father of a Nation), his son Isaac (the Promised child) and his grandson Jacob (the Promised Nation - Israel), their lives were filled with great struggles, tremendous hardships, terror of death, maddening stress and great personal sacrifices even as they followed God's instructions.  They were obedient though it cost them.  In the end their descendants were blessed, a proven resilient bunch, a tiny pin prick of a nation on the world's map, that has survived its hostile surrounding because God's hand is with them.

All three underwent exceptional tests of faith and in the end God proved to them that He was a Sovereign God, totally in control of their situations, faithful in his promises to each. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob died at peace at a ripe old age, regaining all they had lost and much more. Ishmael (!!) and Isaac together buried their father Abraham at his death at the age of 175. Esau (!!) and Jacob were present, at peace with each other, at Isaac's death and buried him together; Isaac was 180 years old. Joseph, the son who was presumed dead, and his brothers were there to bury their father, Jacob, at his death at the age of 147. Today, when Christians worship, we call out to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, faithful in his promises to the very end.

Apostle Paul echoes his forefathers' lives in 2 Corinthian 4:7-18 (NIV) as he spread the gospel of Christ,

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

This is the way of the Christian, facing exceptional challenges in life, building up resiliency to withstand the onslaught from God's enemy - Satan and his powers.  Our future is secure in God's hands, for we read Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:24,  "the one who has called you is faithful and He will do it."

PS: You can read about the life of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob starting in the book of Genesis 11:27 - Genesis, chapter 50.