A Lesson In Waiting
Then the LORD said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own to inherit everything I am giving you.“ -- Genesis 15:4
God promised Abram (later Abraham) that he would become a great nation. Abram, being human like the rest of us, immediately pointed out the problem: Abram and his wife Sarai (later Sarah) were old and they had no children. It seemed like an insurmountable problem to Abram. It was nothing to God.
And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD declared him righteous because of his faith.
-- Genesis 15:6
Abram understood that God could make anything happen. He also knew that God would keep His promise. Sarai doubted. She didn’t believe. She wasn’t patient. She decided to “help” God along. News flash: “Helping” God is never a good idea.
But Sarai, Abram’s wife, had no children. So Sarai took her servant, an Egyptian woman named Hagar, and gave her to Abram so she could bear his children. -- Genesis 16:1-2a
Sarah just decided to take things into her own hands and “make” God’s promise happen. Forcing something when God calls us to wait is never a good idea. Really. He knows what He’s doing. The problem for us is that God’s timing and ours are rarely the same. We would do well to remember that God’s timing is perfect and ours is a bit warped at best.
So Abraham ended up with Ishmael, his first son but not the heir promised by God. While it is easy to condemn Sarah for her really bad idea, let us remember that Abraham could have said no. Fortunately, God didn’t give up on Abraham and Sarah the way they gave up on Him.
Then one of them said, “About this time next year I will return, and your wife Sarah will have a son.” -- Genesis 18:10a
Sarah laughed when she heard this. Laughed. I’d like to make an awful observation about now but I know it would only come back on me. How many times have I disbelieved God’s promise over my own life? It’s easy to believe when it’s someone else’s life but not so easy when turmoil is all around you and you can’t see the light because of the darkness.
Then the LORD did exactly what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant, and she gave a son to Abraham in his old age.
-- Genesis 21:1-2a
Finally Isaac was born. The child God promised -- twenty years after the promise. Yeah. That puts a different perspective on things, doesn’t it? When God made the original promise to Abraham, He didn’t say when it would happen, just that it would. I would have trouble waiting two months but Abraham and Sarah had to wait twenty years. Yet, God remained faithful and He kept His promise.
It comes down to trust. Do you trust God to do what He says He will do for you? Do you trust Him to take care of you, to strengthen you, to walk beside you? Do you trust God with your money, with your home, with your family? Do you trust God to handle difficult situations, to grab you if you start to sink?
It’s when we try to take over, to force the issue to our time frame rather than God’s, that disaster inevitably happens. Ishmael came because Sarah didn’t believe and decided to make sure God’s promise was fulfilled. She later resented his mother and because jealous of them both. There’s nothing quite like getting what you think you want and then realizing that you shouldn’t have had it to start with.
Isaac was God’s promise fulfilled. It takes great spiritual maturity to wait for God. It’s hard. Our timing isn’t His, especially in this age of instant gratification. Yet when we do wait, God blesses us immeasurably. He fills us with His Spirit, His peace, His promise. His blessings multiply when we trust God and wait for Him.
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