While time is immaterial to God, He still chooses to work with His people within the concept of time. There are seasons when God’s work seems very slow to the point where individuals get tempted to doubt or to help God. That’s the subject of this devotional. At other times, He moves so fast; it’s as if a spiritual earthquake hits an area and things shift quickly for people.That’s the subject of the next devotional.
When the Lord first spoke to Abraham about having a child, It was logical for Abraham to think that it would happen soon since they were already old. However, God did not mention a timeframe.
Abraham & Sarah waited for the promised child a long time (about 12-13 years), and then out of impatience took the matters in their own hands. With Sarah’s suggestion, Abraham agreed to sleep with one of his concubines, which brought forth Ishmael. That was not God’s idea nor was it His timing; it just appeared a practical and cultural thing to do considering the circumstances.
Finally, God spoke to Abraham one last time about Sarah having a baby by declaring:
Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” Genesis 18:14
This time God was more specific about the imminence of Sarah having a child. This was 24 years from the first promise God made to Abraham. In our perspective, that would feel like a lifetime. What would you do if you were Abraham or Sarah given the circumstances?
The long waiting years causes some of us to begin to doubt God’s promises. Others move into action and begin to formulate plan B for their lives. A few get so discouraged that they walk away from God.
From 21st century vantage point, looking at the timeline of Biblical history, 24 years of waiting doesn’t seem to have made any difference in the purpose of God. Ultimately, Isaac was born and the nation of Israel was formed. However, for Abraham and Sarah 24 years of waiting must have felt like eternity!
We all have had times and seasons in life, which felt as if they lasted forever. However, when we look back now, that time period was a lot shorter than it seemed at the moment. It’s important to keep the right perspective on time, otherwise we can easily get impatient or discouraged. We can all be tempted to produce our own version of Ishmael, which we will have to live with for the rest of our lives. Let’s surrender our desires to God, so that the enemy cannot use them to tempt us into taking matters into our own hands.
Lord help us to enjoy our years and steward them well. We will continue to stand in faith and believe for what you have promised us. We choose not to get impatient and not to invent plan B in the meantime. Time is in your hands, and we surrender our desire to control it. We ask for your grace and mercy to walk in freedom from bondage of time everyday. Amen!
