Never Early, Never Late, Always Right On Time

 

Have you ever been in a period of waiting? Waiting to see a promise fulfilled? How long did you have to wait? A few days? Years? Maybe you are still waiting? Did you expectantly wait with patience and faith or did you wait with grumbling and complaining and lack of trust? 

As we see in Genesis 12, God promised to make Abraham (then Abram) into a great nation with descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. Abraham doesn't fully understand it because he and Sarah are very old and childless, but he obeys and does as the Lord commands him to and he trusts with expectant faith in the promises God has given him. 

 

 

Many years passed, Abraham and Sarah grew older, and still had no child nor any understanding of how God would fulfill his promise without actually having a child. They trusted God, but in their humanness they tried to take matters into their own hands and Ishmael was born. They thought this child would help to fulfill God's promise, but this was not the case. God had a plan and that plan was not going to be fulfilled through Ishmael. Why? Because it would not have given the glory to God. 

In 1 Corinthians 1:28-31 it says "God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-and the things that are not-to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God-that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord." 

 

God wants all of our boasting (bragging) to be about what God does for us, not what we do for ourselves. He wants us to give him the glory or praise for the blessings in our lives and not act like we brought them on ourselves. 

God's promise would not be fulfilled through Ishmael because God would not have been given the glory. By waiting until Abraham and Sarah were very old, then the fulfillment of His promise could have only come from God, a true miracle, with all praise and glory going to God.  Abraham's situation looked bleak. How could he and Sarah have a baby when they were so old? Your situation may look bleak like Abraham and Sarah's. It may seem impossible or seem like God is silent, but friends with GOD all things are possible. He is never early or never late in keeping His promises. He is always right on time and you can trust that He will do what He says He will do and He will do it right on time. He is working in the waiting. He is working in what seems like the silence. Whether it takes a day or it takes 30 years, He is faithful and will fulfill His promises for His glory and His glory alone.

So if you are in a period of waiting of any length of time at all I encourage you with this today. Trust and have faith that God will fulfill that promise at the exact time it needs to be fulfilled. He promised and fulfilled His promise to Abraham at the exact time it needed to happen.  He is never early. He is never late. He is right on time. Give Him glory in the waiting and give Him all the glory when His promise is fulfilled.