Waiting on the Promise Giver

Genesis 25: 19-28

“These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham fathered Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to be his wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean.  And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren.  And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

Isaac, the promise child has been married for some twenty years, and his wife Rebekah is barren, things are not going well.  But Isaac has learned this; God made the promise and it is time to pray, so he prayed and waited on the Promise Giver.  Often I have the tendency to judge someone like Abraham or Isaac, how could they drop the ball when it comes to believing God’s promises to them?  It is easy to forget that they were not super humans; they were just like you and me.

So how about us, you and me when it comes to believing the promises of God?  When it comes to prayer, Jesus has made promises; “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do; because I am going to the Father.  Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:12-14) I’m not sure about you but often my asking is not “that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”  No I ask because I want a pain free life for my friends, and myself and though that may seem honorable, it is not in keeping with Scripture.  Why should I be treated better than my Lord? 

In the same chapter of John we see a promise to all who receive Jesus as Savor and Lord; “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.  You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”  What a promise; Jesus has not left us as orphans, but He has given us the Spirit of truth to live in us, in our souls, the real us that cannot be seen, but is who we are.  And Jesus has promised so much more, like blessings, deliverance, forgiveness, guidance, mercy, peace salvation, and that is the short list.

But he has also promised something that we should also remember, things like, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have tribulation.  But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)  Christian, the Scripture talks about how some of us will be persecuted; “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” (Matthew 5:11)  What about living independent of God’s authority in this life; see Matthew 10:39, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”  What about Jesus telling Ananias what He had in store for Paul, “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”  (Acts 9:16)  And what about our reputation, the apostle Paul tells us that God may even plan to let you lose all that is dear to you in regards to your reputation, in 1 Corinthians 4:10.

It is my belief, that it is impossible to stand against an enemy that you do not know or believe to be your enemy.  It is likewise impossible to believe the promises of God, when you do not know what they are, and the only way to know, is to open your Bibles and read them.  And after reading them you must put your faith in the God who is a promise keeper.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice