Creator, Father, King #55

Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act.

THE CALENDAR PAGES SEEMED to flip interminably slowly . . . Wait—paper calendars hadn’t been invented yet.

The hour and minute hands seemed like they were barely moving . . . Hold on—wall clocks and wristwatches didn’t exist yet either.

We’d mention sand slipping slowly through the hourglass . . . But, well, you know the drill by now—hourglasses were a couple thousand years from development too.

The point is, from the moment God initially promised to “make [Abraham] into a great nation” (Genesis 12:2) until the fulfillment of the promise, Abraham had to wait twenty-five years!

That’s a looooong time.

Finally, when Abraham was one hundred years old, his wife, Sarah (who was ninety), gave birth to Isaac, the child of the promise. Here’s how Genesis 21:1-2 records it:

The LORD kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised. She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would.

What’s It Mean?

Can you imagine waiting twenty-five years for someone to keep their promise to you? That’s about one-third of a modern life span. Even for Abraham, who lived 175 years, that was a long wait.

But God’s timing is flawless. He is never slow or forgetful in keeping his promises. The plans he makes for our lives are perfectly ordered.

God’s timing is not like ours. He sees all eternity at once (2 Peter 3:8). We can’t see past the present. He is holy, infinite, and omniscient. We are sinful, finite, and typically very narrow-minded. He often asks us to wait for things longer than we’d like to.

Ultimately, this is a good thing. As we wait on God’s timing, he teaches us patience, perseverance, and trust. Remember, Abraham’s faith in God’s promise was “counted . . . to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6, ESV).

Is God calling you to wait on him right now? Have you been praying for a long time with no discernable answer yet? Be encouraged from the story of Isaac’s birth. You might not know the timing or the answer, but God will answer in his own perfect timing. Trust in him. Make today’s verse your prayer. He will always do what’s best for you.

Now What?

Keep a prayer journal so you can track when and how God answers prayer and faithfully fulfills his promises.

Did You Know?

When Abram was ninety-nine, God changed his name to Abraham, which means “father of a multitude,” to reaffirm the covenant God had made with him.