I am God Almighty; walk before Me and be blameless. I will confirm My covenant between Me and you and will greatly increase your numbers. ~ Genesis 17:1, 2
READING: Genesis 17:1-22
Abraham knew what it felt like to wait. He had been waiting for twenty-four years by the time God renewed His promises to him here in Genesis 17. “I will give you this land. Your descendants will outnumber the stars. Oh, and I’ll give you a son by Sarah, your post-menopausal wife” [My paraphrase].
In the meantime, Abraham wandered around Canaan, tending his herds and expanding his entourage. We all live most of our Christian lives “in the meantime,” in that limbo between hearing God’s promises and seeing them come true. Many of us who labor for Christ by planting churches carry a godly but unfulfilled vision to see one church or ten or a hundred established and thriving.
What should we do while we wait?
Abraham never saw the complete fulfillment of God’s promises. He lived to see only three descendants through Sarah, not a starry host. Isaac’s twin sons were still teenagers by the time Abraham died seventy-five years later. When he died, the only bit of the Promised Land he owned was the cave near Hebron where he buried Sarah.
Yet Abraham shows what to do in the meantime. He believed God for the long haul. He believed God in spite of all the evidence to the contrary. He passed the promise on as a legacy to his son and his grandsons.
His descendants eventually conquered the Promised Land. And both spiritual and physical descendants are added in every generation – all because God always keeps His promise.
So, take heart, and, like Abraham, let us press on to believe God in the meantime.
Dear Lord, Give me Abraham’s faith to believe You for my “child of promise.” Amen.
Dynamic Church Planting International (DCPI) “Equips Leaders to Plant 5 Million Churches Worldwide.” Learn more
