BE CAREFUL WITH IMPATIENCE
“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.” 4Then 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 believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:1-6 NIV).
Here we are talking about Abraham and Sarah. Abraham was the father of faith, and at the age of 75 he received a promise from God. The Lord told him that his descendants would be more numerous than the stars in heaven, and Abraham believed Him. His wife Sarah was 65 years old, and she was barren. Abraham was already too weak to dream about having a son. However, God had promised this to Abraham and he had believed Him, took hold of His word and kept it in his heart.
Again, Abraham believed in the promise and he believed that Sarah would give birth to a son, no matter how old she was. Nevertheless, there was a small problem they were dealing with, which has also affected our faith at times, and that problem was time. God told him that he would have a son, but he never said when; he didn’t tell him how much time was left in order to see the promise come to pass. Ten years after the promise, Abraham’s faith wavered and his heart, including Sarah’s, was full of impatience, because they were now 85 years old and their son hadn’t been born yet. Thus, they decided to give God a little help.
“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar… He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael” (Genesis 16:1, 4; 15 -16 NIV).
As a result, Abraham had a son, but he wasn’t the son of the promise, because it wasn’t God’s time yet nor was this the way the Lord had planned it. This son did not bring happiness to Abraham, instead sadness. Sarah felt undervalued, instead of feeling joy, this son brought her pain. This happens a lot when we become impatient and dare to help God, only to accelerate the process. At the end the outcome brings pain and suffering.
Do not get ahead of the Lord’s plans. He knows what He is doing with you and in your life. If He promised something, He will do it in His own time; but remain patient. Most of the time, patience is required to receive the bigger promises. Good things take time.
“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10 NIV).
Think about it:
Are you trying to help God in the fulfillment of a certain promise?
Why do you need to wait on the Lord and not get ahead of Him?