“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’” Romans 4:18 (NIV)
My gaze flew to his engaging smile on the Christian dating site. His name was David, like King David, the man after God’s own heart. David swept me off my feet. He promised to fulfill all my hopes and dreams.
When he urged me to wire $2000 to resolve his financial troubles, my dreams of marriage shattered around me. Instead of an answer to my prayer, David was an imposter and a con artist.
I devoted years praying and waiting for a godly husband to share my life, to no avail. Doesn’t God promise to give us the desires of our hearts? Disbelief in God’s promises settled in my broken heart.
Wait on God to bring Him glory
Abraham and his wife Sarah were well acquainted with waiting. God instructed Abraham to leave home, go to an unknown land, and become the father of a great nation. God promised the childless Abraham a son and offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky. He and Sarah laughed. How could they have a child in their old age? (Sarah was 90 and Abraham was 100.)
Abraham and Sarah remained hopeful for twenty-five years until fulfillment of God’s promises. As Romans 4:18 reads, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’”
God waited until the birth of a child was impossible without supernatural intervention. God did what only He can do to bring glory to Himself.
Waiting grows our faith
Even though Abraham and Sarah doubted, God fulfilled His promise when their son Isaac was born. Abraham’s grandson, Jacob became the patriarch of the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus belonged to the tribe of Judah, fulfilling God’s promise of blessing for all peoples on the earth through Abraham.
God tested Abraham to show the growth of Abraham’s faith. God asked him to do the unthinkable—sacrifice his beloved son Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham showed absolute faith in God by not withholding his only son. As Abraham raised his knife to kill Isaac, an angel of the Lord called out and provided a ram as a substitute for sacrifice.
God’s provision of the ram as an alternate sacrifice for Isaac foreshadows the gift of God’s son as a substitute sacrifice for us. God sent His Son Jesus to earth to pay the price for our sin and restore our relationship with Him.
Perhaps you hope for an answer to prayer like me. Let’s choose to wait on God the way Abraham and Sarah did. Waiting on God’s plan for us will grow our faith and glorify Him. Then we will rejoice in our greatest hope worth waiting for—eternal life with Jesus!
Thank you for this devotional.
Thank you for your comment, Jennifer. I am glad you enjoyed the post.
Good lesson on waiting. I also liked the verse translation. Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness.
Tom, thanks for your comment. I appreciate your support!
Beautiful lesson on waiting! Patience is a gift of God, as is faith and hope. I am so thankful for all His gifts, including you! Praying you win the contest!
Thank you for reading and commenting, Pam. I appreciate your prayers and support.
Thank you for your post. I wanted my timing for a Christian husband not God’s timing. I eventually learned that God had to be 1st in my life. I had peace once I surrendered my will. After waiting God blessed me with a Christian husband. God’s timing is perfect!!
Jeanette, of course I thought of you while writing this post. We must surrender, be patient, and wait on God’s timing. I have more to say about this topic and about Abraham in next week’s post.
Thanks Susan. For the reminder that our God is a God of hope and we can be assured his timing is always good and he is teaching us so much along the way.
Thank you so much for your comment and for your support, Jeanette. Yes, God is always on time.
This past week, I was hoping more than anything that God would heal my friend David. He was healed, but, not on this earth. He was healed as he went to heaven. I could be angry. But as sad as I am, I have to be happy that David is with his mom & dad & more importantly, his heavenly father. I am thankful & still have hope.
I am so sorry for your loss, Kim. Thank you for reading and commenting. It means so much to me.
Beautiful story & application!
Thanks for reading and commenting, Deb.
Great thoughts on waiting! I think it’s one of the hardest things God asks us to do. We just want something to happen now! But that’s so rarely the case.
I hope your devotional gets chosen! 🙂
Thanks, Carly! Yes, we want it NOW!