Delayed is Not Denied!

Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. ~ Genesis 21:5

Abraham is one of the great heroes of faith. It is so amazing to read the story of his life and to see how he kept believing no matter how long he had to wait for God's promises to come to pass in his life.

Abraham was 75 years old when God told him that He would make him a great nation (Gen. 12:2). After waiting on God to fulfill this promise for 10 years, they started getting impatient. Sarah decided to take things into her own hands and "help" God fulfill the promise. She sent Abraham in to be with her maidservant Hagar and she conceived Ishmael. However, this was not the son of promise. Isaac was the son that God has promised and he was not born to Abraham until he was 100 years old! Sarah was 90 years old! Can you imagine having a child at that age?

Abraham and Sarah waited 25 years for the promise to be fulfilled! Sometimes we get frustrated if we have to wait a week for something to come to pass and we start thinking that God has forgotten us. God's timing is everything. We have to trust in His sovereignty and know that He sees the whole big picture. He will not show up early and He will never be late. He is an on time God and He always keeps His promises!

Another great thing about this story is that God was still faithful to His promise even though they tried to get ahead of God and do things their own way. Doing things their way created problems that should not have been there, but it didn't cause God to turn His back on them and forget what He has promised them. God is faithful even when we mess up. We may get ahead of Him and try to take matters into our own hands. God is big enough to work with us even when we mess up. He's not limited by our mistakes. He can take those mistakes and use them to accomplish something wonderful.

If you've been waiting a while for your promise to come to pass, be encouraged! God has not forgotten you! He sees where you are and He will come through for you! Don't allow your limited vision to keep you from trusting in His faithfulness. You only see part of the picture but He sees everything. He is getting everything in perfect order and at just the right time, you will receive what He has promised you! Refuse to take no for an answer. Don't accept defeat just because you're having to wait for it. Delayed is not denied! He is faithful and true to His Word! Keep believing and never lose hope!