Waiting on Promises

Over the past two weeks, I had two different people (who don't know each other) in two different circumstances tell me that they felt like they had a word from the Lord for me--they said the same thing.  This certainly made me sit up and take notice.  One person saying something is reason to pause and listen, but having it confirmed by someone else in a totally unrelated situation is reason to really pay attention.  

One of the first things I thought was, "What am I supposed to do about that?"  For what reason were these individuals given this insight to give to me?  Should I do something to help it along?  

A friend of mine reminded me of the passage in Genesis where Sarai offers Hagar to Abram, so that Abram will have an heir.  (An interesting side note is that this was also the Torah portion for the week, and I ended up leading a Bible study on it this weekend.)  Anyway, regarding the Sarai, Abram, and Hagar situation, I have commonly thought, "How could they be so silly?"  If God promised an heir, then He was going to do it.  However, looking at the timeline of the first promise of an heir to Abram until Isaac was born as at least 14 years.  That puts things in a slightly different light.  God's timeline is so different from ours. 

I don't know why God made Abraham wait so long for a promise that Abram probably perceived as happening immediately.   Perhaps Sarai and Abram thought that they needed to help it happen.  I can imagine them discussing this promise from God and saying, "Maybe God told us about having an heir, so we would try another approach to make it happen."  We don't know how long they waited before coming up with the Hagar plan, but it may have been a few years.

So, I write this to say that waiting for God to do what He has promised can be difficult--especially when we are so accustomed to getting things very quickly.  I need to remind myself to not try to get ahead of God with my ideas.  Perhaps God gives us a preview, so when it comes to pass, we will know it is was not just a fluke, but a carefully planned event from above. 


"And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."  (Hebrews 6:11-12 ESV)