God moments

Waiting for the Promise

by Callia Colson

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise.” (2 Peter 3:9)

Sometimes in our lives, God gives us promises. He tells us our future, our calling, amazing things we get to do with the years ahead. At first, we are excited. God spoke to us; He’s going to do great things through us. Time passes, but soon, it starts wearing down on us. When will He fulfill that promise? Has He forgotten already? Has He changed His mind? Did we even hear from Him in the first place?

Abraham is often referred to as “the father of faith.” He followed God’s voice without hesitation when he was asked to leave his homeland and all that was familiar to him. Then, God made him an important promise, “Look at the sky and see if you can count the stars. That's how many descendants you will have.” (Genesis 15:5). Abraham was amazed. He was already 75 years old. He would have a son? The Bible says that Abraham believed the Lord and so God counted him as righteous. However, years went by, and Abraham still did not have a son. Doubt started to kick in, and Abraham, a man renowned for his faith, tried to fulfill God’s words his own way. By a suggestion of his wife, Abraham ended up having a child through their servant girl Hagar. And while God would still bless this son Ismael and turn him into a great nation for Abraham’s sake (Genesis 17:20), this was not the son of the promise that God had given long ago. 25 years after the initial promise in Genesis 12, Isaac was born.

At times, it can feel like God is delaying His promise, that He is not going to do as He said He would. But God does not change (Hebrews 13:8), and He is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19). If God says something, it will happen. Sometimes we’re the ones who aren’t ready for it. Take Joseph for instance. Joseph was a young 17-year-old boy who was given a dream of the future: his brothers bowing down to him. What did he do with that dream? Went and flaunted that over every single one of them. Of course, the brothers were not okay with that, and as a result, Joseph was sold into slavery. Could Joseph have reacted differently and saved himself a lot of trouble? I believe he could have. HOWEVER, God still used Joseph’s mistakes and turned it around for good. Through Joseph, God saved mankind during the years of famine.

2 Peter 3 tells us that God is not slow in keeping His promise, but He is waiting so that all the world can be saved.  A good example of this is Noah. Like many others in the Bible, Noah did not receive a timetable from the Lord. God simply told him to build an ark, so Noah built an ark. God didn’t tell Noah when He was going to send the flood, He simply asked Noah to obey. Noah spent over a hundred years on the ark, and I doubt that there was a single minute that he didn’t spend warning the people around him of the coming danger. God gave the people time to make their decision, to stand with Noah or to stand in defiance against Him. It is not God’s will that any should perish, but God will never override a human’s free will. He will let us make our own choice between life and death.

If you’re still waiting for God to fulfill His promise to you, don’t worry! He will keep His word. Maybe it’s not time yet because you have to mature or maybe God is wanting to save more lives through the blessing that He has promised you, but trust that He knows what’s best. Waiting for the promise may be difficult, but it is worth it. God’s got you. Just wait and hope.

Deuteronomy 7:9 “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments."