Beloved... God sustains His servant! Lord, may we testify of this like David in Psalm 40.
"I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry."
-- Psalm 40:1-3 (AMP)
“I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of a horrible pit [of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock, steadying my footsteps and establishing my path.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear [with great reverence] and will trust confidently in the Lord.”
If you are like me, you don't like to wait. We grow impatient, frustrated and restless. We prefer the microwave rather than Crock-Pot (slow-cooker)... Society demands speed to provide exceptional customer experience, satisfaction and competitive advantage... Fast food, Fast internet, Fast delivery, Fast cars... Our culture dictates that faster is better... real-time, right now... feeding our impatience...
But Patience is a virtue! Intentionally learning and applying the ability to wait for something without frustration or anger is a valuable quality of a person and one of the fruits of the Spirit.
“But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.
”
There is a popular quote which states, "Whenever you get frustrated with yourself to remember that it takes 13 hours to build a Toyota and six months to build a Rolls-Royce."
God promises to reward us for patience, persistence and perseverance. Over and over in His WORD, God asked us to trust Him in the manifestation of His promises... He is faithful to fulfill His WORD. "Understand, therefore, that the LORD your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps His covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes His unfailing love on those who love him and obey His commands." (Deuteronomy 7:9)
If God has you patiently waiting on the fulfilment of His Promise, you are in good company:
... Joseph waited 13 years
... Abraham waited 25 years
... Moses waited 40 years
... Jesus waited 30 years
““Not a single one of all the good promises the LORD had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything He had spoken came true.””
Beloved... Let God work, don't block your blessings by moving too fast. When God is working on your behalf be patient. Great things take time. Don't get weary and get in the way!
Today, I decided to pick on Sarah in the Bible. Let us examine Sarah's Testimony:
- God's Promise - Sarah will have a son!
- Sarah's 1st Laugh!
- Sarah's Impatience!
- Hagar - the Big Horrible Mistake!
- Sarah laughs again!
“And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’ Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.””
Sarah's 1st laugh at God's promise of a son was due to the limitation of her conception by natural means - her barren womb, the old aged husband....
Sarah's laughter doubted 3 critical attributes of our FAITH journey:
1. God Speech (His Word)
2. God Supernatural ability (His Ways)
3. God Speed (His Will and Timing)
Note that these are 3 areas of our vulnerability and weakness in our faith. These areas are the strategic targets for Satan's attack. Satan tempts us, saying, "Did God say....?" Causing us to doubt, fear, worry, stress, panic, manipulate, become impatient. Resulting in us lowering our boundaries, values, ethics, morals, standards, and self-worth in the acceptance or allowance of less than God's very great promises and plans for us. When it is clearly written in His WORD, what God has already spoken! God WORD says, "Do not be afraid and Only Believe!"
Oh, Sarah.... She waited and waited... and waited on the fulfilment of God's promise for a son... Sarah became impatient... She grew weary of waiting... So thought, why not help God out? Presently, right here is Hagar ... Hmmm!
But, what does Jeremiah 1:12 says? "Then the LORD said to me, 'You have seen well, for I AM watching over MY WORD to perform it.'”
It is written in the Bible that GOD is actively watching over HIS WORD to fulfill, perform, manifest and accomplish it... Not Sarah to do, certainly not me and definitely not you.... END OF STORY!
Why? Because God says so and He will certainly do it! We just need to wait!
But Sarah decided to perform God's Word herself, in an own way, will and timing. Sarah offered Hagar to be with her husband. Hagar became pregnant and gave birth to Ishmael.
“After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight.
”
Sarah, bad idea! :( Abraham, he should have known better... But the male ego :)
Haggar - A big horrible mistake because of Sarah's impatience, lack of faith, failing to trust God's Will, Way, Word and Timing, which resulted in immediate and generational consequences.
But, y'all don't get all too religious and righteous on Sarah because we are just like that! We get weary of waiting...
If there is a long wait between the REVEAL (the revelation of God's Word/Promise) to the RECEIPT (the manifestation of the promise in our lives); we can become weary and restless, unless we rest in Christ, and exercise what I call #REBOUNDFAITH.
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#REBOUNDFAITH: A faith-driven confidence in God Almighty through Christ Jesus of our assured rebound against the opposition; the unshakeable belief that is rooted deeply in God's character, His divine power and Jesus unfailing unconditional steadfast love for us. Actively waiting despite our lack of understanding of the pain of process, even when there is no visible progress of His Hand at work, and the war against our Spirit, the natural man, society, culture, and our flesh, which demands it now!!
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Our local pizza place says 20 minutes or it's free! We can't even wait 25 minutes... Abraham's wait was 25 years! The waiting period was long for Sarah, but the promise was BIGGER than her limited knowledge. Though she knew that it would take a miracle for her to hold a baby boy in her arms. It was an even GREATER MIRACLE - MANIFESTATION OF GOD VERY GREAT GLORY! The "PROMISED SON" was the fulfilment of the three-fold covenant promise God gave to Abraham.
God's Three Promises to Abram
1. Promise: Land - "A land that I will show you."
2. Promise: Nation - "Make you a great nation."
3. Promise: Generational Blessings - "All the families of the earth shall be blessed."
“Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””
Sarah failed to wait on the PROMISED SON and manipulated to fast-track the PRESENT ONE. Sarah, like us, in our limited knowledge, can't see GOD's BIG PICTURE, His Divine Will for the Universe, His very GREAT PROMISES for us. We settle for the present one, what's available now, rather than wait... We charge our credit cards rather than save and patiently wait to purchase that item! We marry the present one rather than patiently wait for the promised one! God always has something better in store if we just wait. "At the appointed time, God answered!"
#UPOWERUP.... What an awesome God we serve? Even when we mess up, God, Our Redeemer, is faithful in keeping His promise to us.... Sarah laughs again... When she carried her own son, Issac (laughter), in her womb, then in her arms!
“So Sarah conceived and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age, AT THE APPOINTED TIME of which God had spoken to him. Abraham named his son Isaac (laughter), the son to whom Sarah gave birth. So Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, just as God had commanded him”
Beloved... God has very great promises for us, above and beyond, immeasurably and infinitely more than we can request or imagine. He is the God of the Universe, Maker of Heaven and Earth... He has the whole world His hands... He is All-Knowing, All-Powerful, All-Loving, The God above all gods, The Only Wise God... Certainly, we can trust GOD to perform and complete His work within us - His VERY GREAT plans, purpose, promises, process, preparation and prophecy.
Let's Pray
Heavenly Father, Hallowed be Your Name! GOD, Your Kingdom come on earth as in Heaven. I commit to You; my deeds, desires, dreams, and destiny. LORD, Your Will, Your Way, Your WORD, BE DONE in my life, at the right time and in the right season! LORD, I repent of my sins and every effort of my manipulation. I take my hands off the steering wheels of my life and surrender everything to You. Jesus, take LORDSHIP over me, my thoughts and all my concerns. I ask You, LORD to take total and complete control of my circumstances. Today, I choose to let go and let GOD! LORD, strengthen my faith to wait without growing weary. LORD, help me to exchange my heavy burdens for Jesus easy and light yoke. LORD, I fix my eyes upon You; knowing nothing is impossible for You. You will never forget, forsake, nor fail me! I am confident that You began a good work in me and You will complete it. I know that You are more than able to help, heal, deliver, provide, redeem, restore, defend, save, rescue, prosper, bless... me. LORD, grant me Your Grace as You teach me to patiently, faithfully, cheerfully and actively wait for You and the performance of Your Glory in my life. Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that I ask or think, dream or desire, according to the power that works in me, to God be all Glory, Honor and Praise. In Jesus name, I pray. AMEN!!
#ReboundFaith
#UPowerUp
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