Have you ever received a promise from God. Maybe a prophetic word or a promise in regards to a breakthrough in your ministry, a business result, or a family situation to be resolved? The list is limitless.
There are times when God gives us specific words of encouragement, but I’m talking about when we get a specific promise. It is exciting. Hope rises up within us. We can’t wait!
And, therein lies the problem… we just can’t wait.
So we get our thinking caps on and try and work out how we might help God along in fulfilling the promise. The only problem is that when we do that we usually mess it up. Then when we finally see the promise fulfilled we would never have guessed it would happen THAT way.
It’s okay, it’s been like that way for a very long time:
For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.
Galatians 4:22,23
God gave Abraham a promise of a son. But Abraham’s wife Sarah was unable to have children, so Sarah thought she would help God out by offering a slave woman, Haggar, to her husband so the promise could be fulfilled. Ishmael was born. Then God comes along and fulfills his promise and miraculously Isaac was born to Sarah!
Ishmael was was mans attempt and Isaac was God’s promise fulfilled.
Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. But what does the Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”
Galatians 4:28-30
When it comes to God’s Promises, we do not want to be creating an “Ishmael”! As what we create has no place in what God intends for us. In fact, the very thing we create maybe a thorn in our side for a very long time. This is why the Jews (Isaac) and the Arabs (Ishmael) fight each other to this very day!
God is faithful when he makes you a promise. Be encouraged by God’s faithfulness to Abraham.
Remember to hold on to it by faith and believe that God will deliver on His Promise and in His own timing.
What has God promised you? What are you patiently waiting on?