While trying to encourage myself through the word of God
this weekend, I was reminded of the word about the story of the son of the
promise and the son born in an ordinary way in Galatians 4:23. These were the
sons born to Abraham by Sarah and Hagar the slave woman. The bible in the book
of Genesis tells us about Abraham, the great man of faith who had been promised
a son by God. His wife was barren and he
had waited for so long to receive this promise. At some point, his wife had
found it ridiculous for them to keep on waiting; she may have reasoned with her
limited mind that maybe God was not serious about it and that they should try
getting an heir by their own way; the ordinary way.
At this thought, Sarah gave in to her flesh, doubted God’s
promise and took one of her slave girl and gave her to his husband so that they
could have a son through her. This girl
gave birth to a son (Ishmael) whom they thought was going to be their heir. However,
the bible says in Genesis 21:1-2 that at the time that God had promised, Sarah
become pregnant and gave birth to a son (Isaac). The bible records that
sometimes later, the child born through the ordinary way began to mistreat
Isaac. On seeing this, Sarah asked Abraham to send them away. God spoke to
Abraham about it and told him that Sarah was right and Ishmael had to go
because he was not the one who would serve as the fulfillment of the promise
made to Abraham by God.
This story reminded me about the faithfulness of God. It
reminded me that I should hold on to God’s promises because they are true and
in His appointed time He will fulfill them. Sometimes when God promises us
things, they may look ridiculous to us or to another. You see, it is so natural
that if anyone needed a child but can’t have them, they may opt for adoption. In
the case of Abraham, their culture allowed for them to have a child through a
slave they owned, and this child would become theirs. However, for the case of
Abraham, God had a different plan. God wanted to glorify Himself through
Abraham and He saw it right for them to have to wait and have a son God’s way
and no other way would work for them.
This same thing may apply to us. God may desire to use us
for His glory in an extra ordinary way, a way that is not common to man. I think
about many other people in the bible like Job or Lot or even Adam who had
children the common way. If these people were in Abraham’s time, they might
have thought that Abraham was crazy to hold on God’s promises. No wonder Sarah
found it crazy that God would give them a son at an old age. That explains why
she laughed when the three visitors in Genesis 18 told her that she would have
a son at such a time the following year.
In life, everything happens, God set for it to. However,
there are things that must happen in extra ordinary manner. These things are
mostly the things promised to us by God. In our waiting, someone may look at us
and think that we are crazy but we need not to seek for them to happen the
common ways. God is not man that He should lie, He doesn’t change His mind
concerning what He promises but He watches to see His word to accomplish what
He has set it to. So whether it looks unreal to everyone else, don’t doubt Him.
He will accomplish it in His appointed it. Don’t try it the ordinary way, He
meant for it to happen to you in an extra ordinary way. So stand on His word,
stand on His promises.
God bless you and keep growing in Him.
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