The Appointed Time: When it’s God’s Will but Hasn’t Arrived Yet
People and circumstances come and go during the waiting season yet God remains a constant companion and friend!
genesis 18:14 amp
“Is anything too difficult or too wonderful for the Lord? At the appointed time, when the season [for her delivery] comes, I will return to you and Sarah will have a son.””
Sarah’s story is a familiar to many, a lesson about trusting God for all and hope for couples who encounter fertility problems. Yet, the journey before they welcomed Isaac into the world (Genesis 21), actually spans six chapters back, in Genesis 15. wasn’t the only life-changing event for Abraham and Sarah.
Genesis 15:4-5*
God tells Abram that he will have a biological heir and that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars.
Genesis 16:1-4
Since she was childless, Sarai summons her maid, Hagar to conceive a child with Abram. This child was named, Ishmael.
Genesis 17:1-5*
God makes a covenant with Abram and his descendants, calling him “the father of many nations” and Sarai “the mother of many nations”; changing his name from Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah.
Genesis 18:14*
God again tells Abraham that he will have a son, despite Abraham and Sarah’s age.
Genesis 19
Due to rampant sin and lack of righteousness found in Sodom and Gomorrah, the city is destroyed. Sidenote: this is the last mention of Lot and his family in the Bible
Genesis 20
Abraham journeys to Gear and for fear of death, tells the king of Gear, Abimelech, that Sarah is his sister. After God reveals that Sarah is Abraham’s wife, Abimelech clears the air by blessing Abraham.
Genesis 21:1-3
“The Lord graciously remembered and visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for her as He had promised. 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.”
Whew, that was a lot to read and write; I can only imagine what it was like to live it!
The three verses with * are times that God told Abraham he would have a son. Even after he and Sarah took matters into their own hands (resulting in the birth of Ismael), God never stopped telling Abraham him that he would have a son and calling him a “father of many nations”.
Beyond being a story of how God is capable of the impossible, Abraham and Sarah’s journey to becoming parents is a testament to how God is with us in the wait. He never leaves us and is constantly reminding us of His Promises! I cannot think of a better companion, than God Himself…
Until Weekend Wellness,
