Abraham Waited Patiently

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Abraham Waited Patiently

God has made us  some pretty impressive promises  with the coming  of the Savior.     Now that Jesus has come,  God has promised us  that we are saved  by grace alone  through faith  in His work  and salvation  on the cross.     Now,  we no longer have to try  and keep  all the old laws  in order to prove  our “faith”  or how good we are  and deserving  of heaven.

Since we don’t get  to see heaven right now  or talk directly  to Jesus,  face to face,  this promise  of salvation  is something  we need to wait for.     As we patiently live through this life,  it can be  a very long wait  and we might begin  to wonder  if God’s promises  are really real.     Will we really get  to heaven  just by faith?     What if we haven’t been good enough?     Will God reject us  at the last minute  if we haven’t done enough  good works?

Abraham had the same problem  —  and possibly a tougher problem  than we have.     God had promised Abraham  a son  and that through that son  a Savior would be born,  so he would be  a blessing  to many nations.     Abraham patiently waited  a whole twenty-five years  before God allowed that promise  to come true.

A whole twenty-five years  of believing  that God is a God  of truth  —  that God  is the Almighty  —  that God  does not lie  —  but,  when will this son  be born?     Abraham was a whole 100 years old,  and Sarah 90 years old,  before God finally kept  that promise.    Because Abraham continued  to believe God,  he kept waiting.

God is patient with us  and He wants us  to be patient  with Him.     Because God is truth  and His faithfulness  can always be trusted,  God tests our faith  to show us  just how surely  He is the Way,  the Truth,  and the Life.

It seems like  when we pray for something,  we have to wait forever  and a day  before getting it.     During that waiting period,  all sorts of doubts  and fears  tempt us  to not trust  in our heavenly Father.     Our patience wears pretty thin  as we wonder why  God has not yet kept  His promise.

In all our waiting,  God can always be trusted  to keep His word.     The writer  of Hebrews wrote at length  about Abraham’s long wait  and faith.     He pointed out  that Abraham’s faith experience  in God’s trustworthiness  is meant  to strengthen us today,  in our faith.

When we are tempted  to doubt God’s love  and salvation  for us personally,  we are to think back  to Abraham  and be encouraged  to realize  that, yes;  God certainly does keep all  of His promises.     Since God has promised us salvation  by grace  through faith  in Jesus,  that promise is very sure.

Here’s how the writer  of Hebrews  put it  in Hebrews 6:17-18,

In the same way God,  desiring even more  to show  to the heirs  of the promise  the unchangeableness  of His purpose,  interposed with an oath,   in order that  by two unchangeable things,  in which it is impossible  for God to lie,  we may have strong encouragement,  we who have fled  for refuge  in laying hold  of the hope set  before us.

We are “the heirs of the promise”.     God wants to assure us  that we are saved  by grace  through faith  in Jesus.     When God gave the promise  of a Savior  to Abraham,  He gave Abraham two things.     First,  was God’s promise  that He would not change His main purpose  in sending a Savior  from all sin,  and that  that Savior  would be a descendant  of Abraham.     Second,  God made an oath  that He would keep  His promise.

God gave that promise  and oath  to Abraham  to strengthen Abraham’s faith  and our faith.     We have the benefit  of seeing  how God kept  that whole promise  after over 2,000 years of time  in Jesus Christ.     Abraham had to wait patiently  for twenty-five years  —  the people of Israel  had to wait  over 2,000 years.

God is not slow.     But,  God realizes  how we can get doubtful,  so He wants us  to remember Abraham’s faith  while waiting.     Abraham was rewarded  for his faith  and we will be rewarded  for our faith.

Whenever we feel weak  in faith,  we are  to hold onto the fact  that God always keeps  His promises.     All the proof we need  is spread  throughout the whole Bible.     Let that strengthen our hope  in the Lord  as we continue  to strive  to live for Him  in faith.

As we put our hope  in the Lord,  we say,  “Hallelujah!     Our Lord is faithful  in saving us  by grace  through faith  in His word.”

Love,
Margaret

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A Christian devotional  to glorify  the LORD of lords  and GOD of gods.

Pray for our country.

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The LORD  made this day, let us rejoice  and be glad  in Him.

Psalm 118:24

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The word of the LORD is tried;

He is a shield  to all  who take refuge  in Him.

Psalm 18:30

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Sing for joy  in the LORD,  O you righteous ones;

Praise is becoming  to the upright.

Psalm 33:1

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How blessed are those  who dwell  in Thy house!

They are ever praising Thee.

Psalm 84:4

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Just as a father  has compassion  on his children,

So the LORD  has compassion  on those who fear Him.

Psalm 103:13

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O give thanks  to the LORD,  for He is good;

For His lovingkindness  is everlasting.

Psalm 107:1

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Glory in His holy name;

Let the heart  of those who seek the LORD  be glad.

Psalm 105:3

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Not that I have already obtained it,  or have already  become perfect,   but I press on  in order that  I may  lay hold  of that  for which also  I was laid hold of  by Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12

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