God's Promises [Day 18]
By Andrew Coryell
After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” 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.” 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 be.” … Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.” … Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. (Genesis 15:1-5; 17:3-8; 17:17-22 NIV)
I was reading through Genesis 15, 16, and 17 with a coworker over FaceTime the other day. We were studying Abraham (then Abram) and what his journey with trusting in God looked like, and it got me thinking about myself—as the Scriptures often do—and what my journey in trusting the Lord has looked like. As I was reflecting, I began to feel convicted and realized that in many ways, similar to Abram, I’ve taken the promises of the Lord into my own hands. I’ve taken career moves into my own hands; I’ve taken finances and relationships into my own hands; I’ve taken healing into my own hands—and I’ve realized that it all leads me nowhere. At the end of the day, it was all in my power and my decisions when God has so much more for me.
Abram, having the promise from God that he would be the father of many children and a name meaning exactly that, went close to 100 years without seeing this promise fulfilled in his life. As time went on, he and his wife Sarai (Sarah) took the promise into their own hands and had a baby with their servant.
Through all of this. God still remained faithful to His promises. Even more so, God goes a step further and blesses Ishmael, the child born through Abram taking matters into his own hands.
Think about where you are currently in life and ask yourself these questions: What promises are you still waiting on from God? Have you taken them into your own hands? Spend time in prayer with the Lord this week, declaring trust in His promises.
Prayer
Lord, I pray that You give us supernatural strength, wisdom, and insight. Help us to see Your plans and things to come through Your Holy Spirit. We ask for patience as we lean into faith in You. I pray that You would help us to grow closer to You in love and understanding. We believe in Your promises, and we know that You are a GOOD GOOD Father, one who never fails, never goes back on His word and will always sacrifice everything to give us anything. We look to You during this time of hardship and trust in You. Thank you for the miracles You are doing, and thank You for the follow-through and provision of Your promises to us. In Jesus’ mighty name, AMEN!
