Daily Reflections on Gen. 16 (Waiting on God's Promises)

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.

Daily Reflections on Gen. 12:1-4 (Leaving the Nest)

Seems like Abraham was pretty old to finally be leaving the nest. Most people fledge, emerge to face life on their own, somewhere between 18 and 25. But 75, come on. Doesn't that seem a little old to be striking it out for the first time? That just sounds odd to me.

Actually, you could look at it just the opposite. Abraham is having a mid-life crisis at 75 and wants to make the rest of his life count for something. I say mid-life because his father passed away at a whopping 205 and I don't mean lbs. Maybe Abe's looking around at all he's accomplished, achieved, acquired and said to himself, "I want to try my hand at something new." Or maybe he was thinking, "I want to travel and see the world."

75 seems like it's a little old to be starting anything new. At 75 people are generally slowing down these days, not thinking about some new career or accomplishing something as grandiose as starting a new nation. But that's what God called him to do, start a new nation in a new land that was already occupied. And I thought starting a new church in a new community at my age was a daunting task. A new nation? It just blows me away that Abraham leaves his security, his retirement and heads out on some unknown quest.

But God called and at age 75 Abraham pulled up stakes and headed off to God knows where. Some would call that stupidity. The Bible calls it faith. Not faith in himself, faith in God. What if ol' Abe would have said no or started out and then later headed back home? Would there have been an Isaac or Jacob or 12 tribes of Israel? How would history be different, how would our world look today if this ONE man would have said no to God?

When God calls, who is to say the ultimate impact of our response. We can't gaze into a crystal ball and know the full impact of our faithful response. God told Abraham he'd make him in a great nation, in fact that's what his name means. Yet God gave Abraham only one son, Isaac. And He gave Isaac two sons, Jacob and Esau. One son and two grandsons, so much for a great nation. But to Jacob God gave 12 sons. And the 12 sons became known as the 12 tribes of Israel. And the 12 tribes of Israel became the nation of Israel. And through the nation of Israel came Jesus. And through Jesus came the Family of God.

No call of God is insignificant. And God can call you at any age, from the small boy who offered his measly lunch to Jesus which fed thousands to Caleb conquering the land of Canaan at 85. What's God calling you to do right now? Your response could change the world or at least impact thousands. But that means taking a risk, stepping out on faith.

God, when you called me to start a new church, I was scared to death. It sounded really exciting but really scary. Now that I'm here, I'm even more scared and the terrain is rougher than I expected. But I'm staying with it. I'm following your lead. I'm trusting you to supply, to protect, to guide. I'm leaving the ultimate impact in your hands. I'm just trying to be faithful to your call.