"The Lord Kept His Word..."

Abraham was 75 years old when God called him to leave nearly everything familiar and go to a land he knew nothing about. God’s promise to transform Abraham’s tiny family into a great nation and to use him to bless all the families on earth must have seemed incredible to him at the time, but he launched out in faith anyway.

At a later point, when God speaks again concerning His promise, Abraham reminds God that he still doesn’t have a son. To his way of thinking, it is pretty hard to be a father of a great nation when you are not even the father of one child. He even tried to “help” God out by having a child with a servant in his household.

Nearly 25 years go by before God finally tells Abraham that Sarah will become pregnant with the the long-awaited child of promise. When he hears the news, Abraham stifles a laugh and thinks to himself: “How could I become a father at the age of 100... And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?” (Genesis 17:17). Abraham thinks that the window of opportunity had passed them by. When he suggests to God that Ishmael, the child born to him by the servant Hagar, become the child of promise, he is refused. God clearly tells Abraham: “But My covenant will be confirmed with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about his time next year” (Genesis 17:21).

Well, what happened? “The Lord kept His word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised. She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would” (Genesis 21:1-2).

Why do we doubt the promises of God? Like Abraham, it is often because we dwell on our own circumstances or set our own time table. Lord, please help me to strengthen my own faith so I can fully trust in Your promises.

God loves you!
Mike