Explore the Bible Series for January 27: Do you trust the Lordâs promises?
Posted:1/14/08
Explore the Bible Series for January 27
Do you trust the Lord’s promises?
• Genesis 15:1-6; 16:1-3; 17:1-2, 17-19
First Baptist Church, Petersburg
The Bible is full of God’s promises to those who honestly seek to live in line with his design for their lives. God promises never to leave or forsake his children. God promises to be an ever-present help and guide. God promises always to hear and answer whenever we call on him.
Yet often in life it may appear God does not always keep those promises. We pray regarding a particular situation or issue, and God does not seem to answer or does not answer in the way or with the timing we want or expect. At times, doubt and disappointment can creep in, and we can begin to question whether God really cares or is even there.
At these times, the crucial question is whether we will trust our own perceptions or God’s promises. As we read the Bible, we find many stories of people who faced these times. Few stories illustrate the dilemma more clearly than the story of Abraham. God promised to make Abraham the father of a great nation through which God would bless the world. As Abraham awaited the fulfillment of those promises, he demonstrated for us the need to choose continually to believe and trust in God’s word despite the circumstances.
Trust the Lord’s word (Genesis 15:1-6)
In Genesis 12, God called Abraham to leave his father’s house and follow God to an unknown land which God would give to his descendents. Although he was 75 years old and did not have any children, Abraham followed God to Canaan. While it is unclear how much time passes between chapters 12 and 15, the intervening chapters suggest it was perhaps several years.
During that time, Abraham likely began to question when God’s promises would be fulfilled. He even may have wondered whether he had heard God correctly. He had followed God to this land but after several years he was still childless and owned at most the small plot of land where he and Sarah lived.
Thus when God again speaks to him and promises once again to greatly bless him, Abraham expressed questions about how God would bless him since all he owned would be inherited by one of his servants. Once again, without explaining how or when, God reassured Abraham that the original promises would be fulfilled and applied to a biological descendant.
Genesis 15:6 then records one of the most significant verses in the Old Testament. This verse is repeated three times in the New Testament as an example of true faith (Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:6, James 2:23). In spite of what he was experiencing at the moment, Abraham believed God. How often do we hear God’s call and respond, “I could never do that,” or “That is just not how it is normally or should be done.” Abraham teaches us that, while it may be difficult to understand how, if God says something will happen, we can trust his word it will happen.
Trust the Lord’s timing (Genesis 16:1-3)
Many times the stories in the Bible refer to customs that seem immoral to us and that often causes us to miss the point of the story. While Abraham taking Sarah’s servant Hagar as a second wife may shock us, in the culture of the time, it was perfectly acceptable and is somewhat secondary within the story. Abraham and Sarah had been living in Canaan 10 years and still did not have any children.
From their perspective, the possibility of giving birth to a nation became more remote with each passing day as both were well beyond the age for bearing children. They trusted God’s promise but questioned God’s method and timing. Sarah therefore devised a way for the promise to be fulfilled before it was too late.
Many times today, believers may find that God appears to be slow in responding. We pray and no answer comes. The temptation can be great to move ahead on our own. Perhaps the situation is similar to a previous experience. We know how God moved then and assume the same action this time. Perhaps we know what appears to be the most selfless and godly thing to do, and move in that direction. We may find some success when we act in our own timing, but it will never compare to the wealth of blessing we find when we commit to wait until God answers trusting in His timing.
Trust the Lord’s wisdom (Genesis 17:1-2, 17-19)
Fourteen more years passed, and Sarah still had not had a child. Abraham now was 99 years old and was convinced it was too late to father a child. So when God once again spoke to him promising to confirm a covenant with his descendent if he would continue to walk in faith before God, Abraham responded the way most people likely would, he laughed.
It was not out of disrespect toward God—he simply could not fathom how such would be possible under the circumstances. He reminded God he had a son, Ishmael, who now was a young teenager. Why could he not be the recipient of the promises?
Many believers today have heard God calling them to be involved in some particular ministry that may require making some change or moving and have asked, “Why can’t I serve you in this place or in the same way I am used to?” Often we simply cannot see the reason or wisdom behind God’s call. Our way of serving God makes much more sense to us.
Yet as Isaiah 55:9 reminds us, God’s thoughts are higher than ours. God has an infinitely better view of the big picture and God wants us to trust His wisdom even when it does not make sense to us. Fulfilling God’s call in God’s timing and according to God’s wisdom and plan leads us to experience measures of God’s blessings beyond all we can imagine.