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Genesis 15:1-7(NLT)
“1 Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.” 2 But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. 3 You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.” 4 Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” 5Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” 6 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith. 7 Then the Lord told him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession.””
Many Christians have heard this record regarding God’s promise to Abraham numerous times, but they may not have fully appreciated the hefty privilege we have as descendants of Abraham’s faith in God. Abraham is called the ‘Father of Our Believing’ because he was fully persuaded that God was not only willing, but able to fulfill that which He had promised. Many of us don’t have the kind of faith that Abraham had, but we should. We have nothing like his circumstances to contend with, and you and I have access to spiritual power that Abraham didn’t have; we have the gift of Holy Spirit dwelling within. Abraham demonstrated for us what it looks like to be sold-out on God’s Word. We are the Children of Promise, and anything less than an Abraham-kind-of-faith will cause us to miss out on all that God has in store for our lives.
Abraham had a yearning in his heart, and many single women can understand what this feels like. He wanted a family, but his wife, Sarah, hadn’t been able to conceive. Abraham thought the story was over, given that he was way past the age of a man typically able to produce offspring. Imagine how he must have felt, to think that what he wanted most appeared to be an impossibility. Yet, we don’t read anywhere in God’s Word that Abraham had grown bitter or resentful. We don’t see him refusing to be obedient, but rather the opposite. He continued to be a man that honored God, despite the disappointment he might have felt. His humility and obedience to God’s Word ultimately gave faith the landing strip it needed.
Many of us have been praying for marriage a long time. We’ve asked Heavenly Father to bless us with a good man, and because the answer to our prayer doesn’t appear to have materialized yet, we conclude our prayer hadn’t been effective. In Genesis 15:1, Heavenly Father said to Abraham, “I am your Shield.” God placed a hedge around Abraham to protect the promise. Abraham didn’t know what God had in store. He no doubt enjoyed the protection and care of God’s covering all his life, yet, he didn’t know the bounty of what was included in this protection. He didn’t know that God was also protecting the promise of his future. The same is true for you.
I’m reminded of an occasion when my youngest daughter received a bag of snacks at school one day. Her class had a birthday party and the kids were given a bag of candy and chips to take home. Late that day, when she got home, she noticed the bag was lighter than it was when she left school. Immediately she became upset. After inspecting the bag, I noticed that it had a hole in it, and all of the candy had fallen out. This is indicative of many of our prayers and beliefs in the area of marriage. We stagger at the promises of God and refuse to align ourselves with His Will. Because of this hole in our faith, our petitions fall to the ground, and we miss the opportunities to enjoy the sweetness of what God has in store.
We must remember that God delivered the promise first, and Abraham responded to God by having faith. This is the pattern God has set, and we must use it. Before Abraham responded to God, his mindset was “I’m old and comfortable. I will stay here in my father’s country and live out my days.” God had a different plan.
You may need to ask yourself if you are too comfortable? Is God’s Will your plan, or are you asking God to make your plan fit into His agenda? That won’t work. Abraham had to stretch himself to see beyond circumstances that might have toppled the believing of average man living in his senior years. He had to expand his vision of what was possible, and he had to humble himself to God’s Will and abandon his own agenda. We may need to do the same.
When we go to the Father, we can’t have low expectations. We can’t have the attitude of ‘maybe God will answer my prayer or maybe He won’t.’ You have to know beyond anything else that God wants to bless you. He wants you happy and fulfilled more than you want it for yourself, but there’s a pivotal and crucial piece of information you must always keep in the forefront of your mind. And it is the reality that only God makes the promises that are guaranteed. He’s the one who sets the agenda for your life, and to see His promises come to pass, you must follow His Will.
In your life, let’s face it, you’ve done things because you wanted to do them, and sometimes, you didn’t consult God. You’ve planned your future the way you wanted it to go, completing your vision boards and the whole nine yards. Proverbs 19:21 (NIV) tells us, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” Don’t misunderstand, God wants you to have a vision, but His plan and purpose must be first in your life. As you continue to humble yourself and yield to Him, you’ll receive the same success as Abraham and Sarah, and the promise of the Father will be fulfilled in your life. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Is There A Hole Somewhere?”, written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2018. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.
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