Ever wonder why God took so long to give Abraham a son or why He didn't let Abe in on the plan from the beginning? I mean Abraham is in his seventies when God calls him in the first place. Sarah was already in her sixties. God tells Abe to "go to the land I will show you." So Abe takes off without his Garman and just goes. To where? "God, could you give me a hint?" But God doesn't tell him, He just lets Abe wonder around for a while. "And what about the promise of fathering a great nation? I'd like to know more about this. I'm ready to get started. Am I going to have a harem, Lord?"
Abraham sure had a lot of unanswered questions, as apparently did Sarai or Sarah. "You want me to pack up everything and go where? Are you sure you heard God speaking to you or were you just a little sauced at the time? Father of a great nation? Now I know you were drinking." Yet it was twenty-five years before God gave Abe a son.
You know it was bugging them, had to be Abe. Apparently it was intense enough for Sarah to offer Hagar to Abraham. And Abe was so eager to have a son that he took Hagar to be a surrogate mother. We're not talking In Vitro here. And my guess is that it wasn't a one time occurrence. I wonder what Sarah really thought every time Hagar went into Abe's tent.
Nature worked. Hagar got pregnant. But that's not what God had in mind. Hagar had a son for Abe but it eventually caused trouble for Abe, Sarah, Isaac, Hagar and Ishmael. So let me ask again, why didn't God let Abe in on His plan? He could have saved everyone a lot of grief.
God calls Abe, makes him a promise of being a great nation and giving a land, yet waits until Abe is 100 before He comes through. Weird. When God makes a promise I'd like to collect on it right away. If if won the mega lottery today, I wouldn't want to wait until I was seventy-five before I collected on it.
God's timing and His ways are definitely not our timing and our ways. My observation is that Sarah had given up on God ever keeping His promise. She laughed, "So now I'm gonna have child at ninety." God rewards faithfulness and steadfastness. Perseverance is a quality God admires. God waited for several reasons before giving Abe a son. But one thing is for sure, the birth of Isaac was without question at the hand of God.
God, I confess I'm impatient. I want your promise now. The stirrings you put in my heart and vision in my mind I expect to happen right away. I'm always eager to make things happen in my timing, my way. I'm trusting you and waiting on you. So renew my strength, just as you promise.
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