Pending that is realize the promise...

"He led him outside and said to him : Look at the sky and count the stars, if you can count them. He added, Such will be your offspring." Genesis 15: 5

What happens once God has made a promise to you ? Does it always accomplish it immediately ? If you're like me, you've probably had to wait. This waiting time is what I call the "in-between".

Let us not be tired of waiting.

God's promise to Abraham took twenty years to accomplish. Arriving at an advanced age, Abraham asked God to give them an heir, for he and Sarah could not have children. "He [God] led him outside and said to him : "Behold the heavens and count the stars, if you can count them. He added, Such will be your offspring." Genesis 15: 5.

The Bible tells us that Abraham had confidence in the Lord. He believed with all his heart this promise. To understand what his attitude was remarkable, one must know the context. At the time of the promise, Abraham was eighty and Sara seventy. And although it was totally unthinkable to have a child at this age, Abraham believed in the Word that God had announced to him.

The day when God made this promise to him was certainly a memorable date for Abraham, as was also the date of the birth of Isaac. But what about the period between the two - the twenty years of waiting ?

Like Abraham and Sara, we spend a lot of time in the in-between, which is a period rich in important events. This is the time of testing, maturing and learning to trust.

Let us not be tired of waiting. Abraham and Sarah were discouraged and allowed themselves to deviate from the promise. Tired of waiting, Sara proposed to Abraham to have a child with Hagar his servant, since the Lord had prevented her from giving birth. She thought her idea would help in the realization of God's plan and Abraham listened and followed her suggestion.

But when Hagar was pregnant, Sarah and she felt contempt for each other. Sara brought the blame on Abraham and instead of the expected miracle, it was a huge mess. Agar gave birth to Ishmael, who was not a child of the covenant and whose life was marked by violence.

Two ways of living present themselves to us :

- according to faith (Isaac) : God makes you a promise, you remain confident and wait for its fulfillment.

- according to the flesh (Ishmael) : you hear what God tells you, you get tired of waiting and decide to take matters into your own hands.

Unfortunately, many of us create their own "Ishmael". Perhaps you are faced with a delicate situation right now for trying to force things instead of waiting for God's time. But the good news is that nothing is lost. The grace of God can change this situation into good.

A decision for today

Make the decision to stand firm in the in-between, whatever it is, and keep faith in God. You are going to have to go up your spiritual sleeves, prepare for the good fight of faith and say : "I will not go back, I will stand and be what God wants me to be. He asks me and I will have what he wants to give me ... no matter how long it takes !"

Joyce Meyer

Source (The Thought of the Day)