Understanding God's TimingMostra

Abraham is remembered as a man of great faith. He trusted God in many areas of his life, including leaving his home and moving to a foreign land. God repeatedly blessed him for it, expanding his wealth and giving him honor among men. However, something was missing from Abraham’s life, and it was a primary concern for him. Abraham did not have an heir. He and his wife Sarah were barren. When Abraham died, his belongings would pass to one of his servants, Eliezer of Damascus. In Genesis 15:2, Abraham mentioned the lack of an heir while conversing with God. In His loving-kindness, God replied to Abraham, “Your very own son shall be your heir.” (Verse 4) At the time of this conversation, Abraham was 89 years old. That’s pretty old to be fathering a child!

Abraham may have believed God, but he and Sarah eventually lost patience and lacked trust in God's promise. Taking matters into their own hands, Sarah suggested that Abraham lie with Hagar, her servant, to obtain an heir. But Abraham didn’t lie with Hagar immediately. He waited. He continued to display trust in God’s promises, at least for a while.

Abraham's and Sarah's struggle was not just a physical one, but an emotional one as well. According to Genesis 16:3, they waited on God for ten long years, hoping for a son. Ten years and still no sign of a child. Abraham was now 99 years old! From a human perspective, it is understandable that they lost patience with God's timing. They took matters into their own hands, following Sarah's suggestion and Abraham lay with Hagar. Nine months later, Ishmael was born.

Abraham and Sarah's impatience had severe consequences. In their haste, they ran ahead of God, disregarding His timing and His redeeming love. The results of their actions were not just immediate but had long-standing effects. Ishmael, Abraham’s son with Hagar, became the ancestor of many Arab nations, who remain mortal enemies of the Israelites to this day.

In Genesis 17:15-16, God reiterated His promise of an heir to Abraham. This time, God was more specific and clarified that the promised son would come from Abraham’s wife, Sarah. In Genesis 18:10, God further affirmed His promise to Abraham that Sarah would have a son. She laughed at this announcement and said, “Shall I indeed bear a child now that I am old?” Abraham and Sarah had waited almost 80 years for a child! God’s timing, from their perspective, was way off. However, the Lord shut down Sarah’s line of questioning and her laughter, saying, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” God showed them that His timing was perfect and that they could trust Him regardless of the past. They were even told to name the son “Isaac,” which means laughter. Maybe God wanted Sarah to remember the time she laughed at God’s promises whenever she called her son to dinner.

In His timing, God displayed His redeeming love for Abraham and Sarah despite their loss of hope. In providing a son to Abraham and Sarah, God “brought them back from the dead.” Romans 4:19 refers to this: “He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb.” (Emphasis added.) God blessed Abraham and Sarah with a new generation despite all their suffering. God’s redeeming love had restored their hope.

This story shows us who God is and how He works out His redeeming love in the lives of His people. Like Abraham and Sarah, we too, may have given up hope. But through His redeeming love, He will do the same for us. We can be brought back from the dead to life, in Christ and our hope will be born anew.

What can we learn from this interaction between Abraham, Sarah, and God? Sometimes, God's timing is different from ours because He wants our trust and uses our waiting to strengthen our faith. Are you in a time of waiting? How does this story remind you of God’s faithfulness? How has God worked His redeeming love in your life?