Learning to Wait: Lessons From the Life of Abrahamনমুনা

Promise

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” Genesis 12:3 (NIV)

When God called Abraham to leave his homeland, his people, and even his extended family, he made Abraham two great promises (among others).

1. Through Abraham and his family, God would bring blessing to the whole world (Genesis 12:2-3)
2. God would make Abraham's family as numerous as the stars in the sky, giving him children from every nation on earth (Genesis 15:5; 17:4)

When God first made these promises, Abraham was already 75 years old (Genesis 12:4). Sarah, his wife, was around 66. From a human perspective, what God had promised looked like an impossibility (Genesis 18:11-14). And from a human perspective, it seemed foolish for Abraham to trust that God would do what he had said.

But Scripture reveals that Abraham did just that: “Against all hope, but still in hope, Abraham believed that he would become the father of many nations in line with what had been said to him” (Romans 4:18, NTFE).

Abraham never saw the complete fulfillment of God’s promises in his lifetime (Hebrews 11:13). Around 2000 years later, in 1st century Bethlehem, one of Abraham’s descendants was born (Matthew 1:1), through whom all of God’s promises to Abraham were fulfilled.

1. Through Jesus, God brought blessing to the whole world by making a way for humanity to be reconciled with him
2. Every person who responds to Jesus in faith becomes part of Abraham's multi-national family, inheriting his legacy of hope and trust in God’s promises

Practice:

This week, make a promise to another person that you know you can keep within the next 24 hours (or so). It can be something as simple as saying you’ll wash the dishes, join someone for a walk, or make coffee in the morning, As you engage in this spiritual practice, become an observer of your own heart and the dynamics of trust:

• When making the promise: Notice the other person's initial response. What does their reaction reveal about their experience of receiving promises?
• When keeping the promise: Pay attention to your internal landscape. What emotions surface? What does it feel like to be intentionally faithful to keep a promise?
• After fulfilling the promise: Observe the relational impact. How does keeping your word affect your relationship with the person to whom you made the promise?

Prayer:

Ask God to reveal areas where you find it difficult to trust God and his promises in your own life. Ask him to develop in you a faith like Abraham’s—an "against all hope" kind of faith, that persists even when circumstances seem impossible.