Through GenesisSample

TIMING & A TEST

God was true to his promise. Abraham and Sarah had Isaac even when they had given up hope. When I look back at life, there are so many times God had revealed his plan to me and over time I gave up hope. God showed up and fulfilled it. Today I have learned the lesson that when God promises, there is also timing to it and it will come to pass. We need to wait patiently.

For thirteen years Abraham may have been looking at Ishmael as the fallback plan and hoping that God would fulfill his promise through Ishmael. There was a bond which grew between them. Speculating here, maybe Abraham and Ishmael had father/son talks about God’s promise to Abraham.

Ishmael was thirteen when God visited Abraham and reaffirmed the promise of Isaac. Ishmael may have heard about it and now Isaac is born, Ishmael feels threatened rightfully and he started mocking Isaac. Again Sarah advises Abraham; this time Abraham takes the matter to God and God seconds Sarah’s advice. Abraham had to let go of Ishmael. Hagar and Ishmael were sent away.

Isaac was the promised son and there was no Ishmael as a fallback option and now God tested Abraham. God wanted to see how much Abraham trusted Him. Abraham chose to obey God and he passed the test. In our lives, are we willing to wait for God’s timing and pass the tests He places in our lives?

God’s tests usually are to see if we trust Him absolutely. Blessed are those who pass these tests. Even if we have failed, we may have consequences because of the situation, but God’s grace and mercy are still available if we acknowledge our mistake and turn back to Him. We see this when Abraham made a mistake with Hagar.