Don’t Let Go of the Promise
So many times in our lives we are tempted to give up. It would appear the very thing we are trying to achieve is at war with us. It was a promise given to us by God but it doesn't appear to happening like we thought it should. We want to get out of debt, yet we run into unexpected challenges that put us further back. We want to go to school, but there is no money available and your job isn't willing to reimburse you for your classes. You want to have another child yet your doctor gives you the diagnosis that having another child is next to impossible. When we get in those situations that is when we have to come to the realization that we are not in control. When we think about all of these different issues and believe me, I know there are many others; we cannot give up our faith. The Bible says that "Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is the confidence we have in God to bring to manifestation those things we do not yet possess.
I have been studying the book of Genesis this month and I have found that Abraham was truly a man of faith and he didn't even have the scriptures to encourage him. He truly learned to walk with God and trust him without having anything to use as a gauge. We have the word of God we can turn to and receive strength, help, peace and so forth. Whether or not we turn to it is another story. But Abraham had to learn through his own triumphs and failures how to believe God. The Lord told him he would be the father of many nations, yet he was one hundred years old before he had Isaac. Yes, he did father another son, Ishmael, before then, however, he was not the promised seed.
There are also instances, as in the case of Sarah we like to help God out. We are given a promise from God and if it does not happen when we think it should we want to try to bring it to pass ourselves. That is not God's way; he wants us to wait on His timing because God's blessings come without sorrow. When Sarah gave Abraham the idea of having Hagar be the surrogate mother, nothing but pain and sorrow came from that union. Sarah resented Hagar for her ability to be pregnant and Hagar felt the sting of the rejection and the sense of being used as an incubator for someone else's child. That does not sound like joy and happiness now does it?
The thing we know we heard the Lord say he would grant us just doesn't seem to be coming fast enough. Yet it is so important to stay faithful and hold to the promise given. When Abraham finally began to really trust God the Lord revealed to him a little bit more of the promise. He first told him he would be the father of many nations; then he told him that the child would come from him. Finally he told him that Sarah would be the mother and it would be through her that Isaac would come. When they chose to believe, it was still 13 years before the manifestation came forth.
When we come to the end of ourselves and know that we cannot go on, I trust that we would decide to trust God for his ability to work through us. The Bible says that his strength is made perfect in our weakness (II Corinthians 12:9). Let Christ be our strength, trust Him for all things. Be empowered and know that God is all powerful and with Him all things are possible.
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This is the debut album by EXW friend Paul Langford. Paul is a Chicago based singer, arranger, keyboardist, producer and conductor. Paul has a career that spans 14 years. Paul's work includes arranging for groups like GLAD, Voices of Liberty, VoiceTrek, The Chicago based "Caroling Party" and Day of Discovery Singers. His arranging has appeared on recordings side by side with greats like Gene Puerling and David Maddux, and he has sung with Don Shelton, Bonnie Herman and Bob Bowker, among others.