“Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.” (Hebrews 6:15).
God promised Abraham an heir through his wife Sarah, despite her old age. They waited for 25 years. Sarah eventually gave birth to Isaac, “and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised” (Genesis 21:1).
Photo by Eddie & Carolina Stigson on Unsplash
Abraham trusted in God to keep the promise that his offspring would be numerous like the stars in the sky (Genesis 22:17). The faith he displayed in his waiting was credited to him as righteousness. However, Abraham was not the only one who had to wait, and Isaac was not the only gift he received.
Trudging through the grasslands as a nomadic shepherd, Abraham had an opportunity to look over the land that was promised to his family. Every new view must have strengthened his faith as well as the anticipation.
How do you suppose others in his group experience what may have seemed like endless treks through hills and valleys? Do you suppose Sarah was happy about being uprooted at 65 and invited on a lifelong camping trip?
God’s voice first came to Abraham, and he is the one left to convince his wife. Did she get discouraged when she became worn out from packing the tent or building another cooking fire? The Bible doesn’t say much on the topic, and so we are left to assume.
Abraham’s life is a fascinating study because he often takes two steps forward, only to take one step backward. He is making spiritual progress, but do you think he got discouraged and forgot where he started? Maybe he was tempted to focus on his latest misstep.
Do you do that? Instead of seeing how far you have come with God, do you become impatient with how long it takes you to receive all of God’s promises? The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 15:4:
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Not every spiritual lesson has to be learned firsthand. If you are observant, you can pick up extremely useful information from other people’s blunders. Abraham and Sarah’s missteps are a perfect example of the many personal applications you can make from their awful mistakes.
What did waiting on God produce in Abraham? Wait time gave Abraham a deeper understanding of God’s goodness and his unconditional love. At first, Abraham only knew God was powerful, but after experiencing God’s faithfulness numerous times, he clearly understood the God of creation was on his side. Amazingly, after Isaac’s birth, Abraham will even have the grace to surrender to God the child of the promise on Mt. Moriah.
God was also permanently reshaping Abraham’s view of his wife. Before God’s revelation, Abraham saw Sarah and her beauty as a liability when they traveled, not someone precious he should protect. At least two times while they were on the road, Abraham lied and told people Sarah was his sister. He could have trusted God for his physical protection, but instead, he practiced deception as a form of protection.
What does waiting on God produce in you? Waiting on God can be hard, but the benefits of doing so are immeasurable.
One of the greatest benefits to waiting on God, for me, has been the lesson of humility. Trusting God in the good times is easy, but waiting for Him to move during trying times is hard. These are the times that are so important to build faith, increase our confidence in Him and grow spiritually.