GOOD DAY!
It's time to seek the Lord, oh how good He is! Recently the Lord has been talking to me about seeking Him and going for my promises that I've been waiting for years. As l write this I'm reminded of Abraham who waited for 25 years for his promise.
It's time to seek the Lord, oh how good He is! Recently the Lord has been talking to me about seeking Him and going for my promises that I've been waiting for years. As l write this I'm reminded of Abraham who waited for 25 years for his promise.
Genesis 15 New International Version (NIV)
The Lord’s Covenant With Abram
15 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:
2 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit[c] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring[d]be.”
6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”QUESTION IS...... WHY did it take so long? Is there anything that he could have done to make the promise come sooner? I want to believe there is. We don't hear him talking to God about the promise. No communication at all! I believe God was waiting for him to approach and ask questions. When he didn't come God had to come back and make a promise again, this time with a time frame.Genesis 18 New International Version (NIV)
The Three Visitors
18 The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
3 He said, “If I have found favour in your eyes, my lord,[a] do not pass your servant by. 4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”
“Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs[b] of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.”
7 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.
9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.
“There, in the tent,” he said.
10 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.”
But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”
Maybe you, are like Sarah who ended up bringing Hagar to help with God's promise. Maybe its been so long that you even laugh at the idea of the fulfillment of your promise, GOD knows. There are so many things that you can learn from Abraham concerning what he did- patience, perseverance, faith, intimacy with God. Yet ...... TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK. PART 2