The Promise: Waiting
“For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Acts 2:39
“Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercywith them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;” Deuteronomy 7:9
“For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” 2 Corinthians 1:20
For the few weeks, I have been very intentionally repeating God’s promises. There are thousands and thousands of promises in His Word that transcend any culture, fad or span of time.
One thing is for sure… His promises are never on our timetable. They never happen when we think they should happen.
As a matter of fact, most of His promises might seemed delayed in our eyes, but they are always on time and within His plan.
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11
This is one reason that I think patience is a huge part of the fruit of the Spirit we should work to portray. He is working out His promises in our lives over our entire lifetime! He’s working us toward an “expected end.”
Today, I want to talk about the promise of waiting…..We can discuss many characters in the Word of God that had to wait. Let’s start with Abraham and Sarah.
They waited over 2 decades (25 years) to see their promise fulfilled. And, they got impatient 10 years into the wait.
Now in this day and age, I’m not sure if too many people would wait even that long.
But that is exactly what the devil likes – for us to WANT SOMETHING NOW, when the timing isn’t right for us to have it.
Here is a question for all of us… would you want something in God’s timing or not in God’s timing?
Now, let’s look at Abraham and Sarah’s Story….
Abram’s Call
“Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.” Genesis 12:1-3
“And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.” Genesis 12:7
Abram’s Vision
“After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” Genesis 15:1-6
“Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.” Genesis 16:1-4
The Promise of Isaac
“And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.” Genesis 17:16-19
“Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” Genesis 18:14
“And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.” Genesis 21:5
After years of waiting, the promise was fulfilled!
“But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” Genesis 50:12
