Wait on the Promise

Devotional Written by Awaken Team Member, Jeff Tolnar

Genesis 16:11-12

The angel of the LORD also said to her: “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”

Abraham and his wife Sarah had a promise from the Lord that they would have a son and all the descendants from him would be too numerous to count- greater than the dust on the earth or the stars in the sky. After many years they became weary in the waiting and decided to take matters into their own hands. Sarah gave her servant Hagar to Abraham to bear a child. Hagar became pregnant with Ishmael. At once Sarah realized this was a mistake. She was angry, jealous and frustrated and in the end sent Hagar and Ishmael away.

In time, even though she was past the age of child bearing, Sarah became pregnant and bore a son, Isaac. Through Isaac  all the promises of God would be fulfilled. However, Sarah’s  life remained very complicated because she and Abraham were not obedient to wait on the Lord. 

While it is incredibly difficult to wait on God, we must learn to trust in His promises and His timing. Numbers 23:19 tells us: God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

How much turmoil and grief have you brought into your life because you created your own Ishmael? When you have a promise- trust and wait on the Lord and resist the temptation to take matters in your own hands.