The Grace of Sarah: a 5-Day Devotional for Those Called to WaitSample

Day 3 - I Can Do Bad All By Myself, But Grace Won't Let Me

"And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.”-Genesis 17:20-21 (NIV)

Yesterday, we looked at the story of John the Baptist. Although he became the forerunner for Jesus, he did not have an easy start to life and ministry.

Culture is quick to make judgment calls: delays are seen as an indication that something is wrong with the one waiting. Ask a single woman of a certain age why she is single, and she might list all her insecurities and perceived flaws. Ask a young professional why he has not reached a certain height in his career, and he might list all the setbacks he has had to face. However, scripture is clear that delays are not always the result of our shortcomings. Take, for example, Daniel 10:12-13, an example of a delay resulting from spiritual warfare.

There are times when the wait has less to do with us and more to do with God's timing and the big picture. This was true for John the Baptist. The backdrop of his life is anchored in a very specific fact - both his parents were upright in the sight of God (Luke 1:6). Not often enough are those called to waiting seasons reminded that the delay is not always a consequence of their doing. What if you were upright like Elizabeth, blameless like Job, protected like Sarah, but you still had to wait? In those moments, we must be careful about guarding our minds. Otherwise, we might try to do what Sarah did - circumvent the process.

In Genesis 16:2, unable to see any other answer to infertility, Sarah requests that Abraham have a child with her maidservant. I can only imagine how demoralizing it must have been for her to think that was her best option. Despite her attempt to rush the season, God was gracious. He not only redeemed her mistake by extending a covenant to the new baby Ishmael, but He remained unwavering in His commitment to using her.

The same is true for you and me. No matter the root of the delay, or our contribution to the length of the season, God is actively at work. Sometimes, that means He is fighting battles unseen to us. Other times, it means He is on the backend redeeming how we navigate the process.