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The Covenant AlternativeSample

The Covenant Alternative

DAY 3 OF 7

 

Day 3: Be Patient With God.

 Robert H. Schuller once said, “Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.”

God's promise to Abraham and Sarah took a total of twenty-five years to be fulfilled, which should remind us of what Habakkuk 2:3 NIV says, "For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it lingers, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay." Ishmael may have been born thirteen years earlier, but God’s promise came to pass. At the right time, Isaac was born and the promise was fulfilled. 

We all have a threshold of tolerance, be it for pain or delayed expectations, but with God's power, He will see you to your promise. God’s promises are worth waiting for. 

You can’t rush God in fulfilling His promises, just as farmers can’t control the rain and sunshine—all they can do is plant their seed, water it, and wait, for the harvest.

While you wait, don't settle for a look-alike of God's promise. Yes, sometimes when we've waited so long for a miracle, be it a job, a partner, healing, promotion, or any form of breakthrough, if we are not resolute in our trust in God, at some point, we start getting despondent. Proverbs 13:12a NIV reads, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick…” Nevertheless, we also need to remind ourselves what the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV “…My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 

Don’t become so desperate while you wait. Remember, Esau sold his birthright in his desperation for food. Impatience is costly.

Take one day at a time. There is a musical term for a pace of play called poco a poco, meaning little by little. Dear friends, poco a poco, God's promise will become a reality.

Dan 2Dan 4

About this Plan

The Covenant Alternative

While Abram waited for his promised child, an alternative to the covenant was born named Ishmael. Ishmael is a metaphor for things that 'anesthetize' us from the pain of waiting too long for God's promises. When God's promises seem far to reach, and our patience seems exhausted, how can we hold on to God's Word while we wait? What substitutes have you welcomed in place of God’s best?

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