The Bottom Line, Ministries Christian News, Articles, & Poetry 
Have you ever grown tired of waiting for God to reveal His plan for your life? Or perhaps you already know His plan, but you are waiting for Him to open all the right doors or provide all the necessities. Have you prayed for something within God’s will, yet grown weary while waiting on His answer? Well, my friend, if anyone can relate to what you’re going through, it’s Abraham.
In Genesis 12, God calls Abraham to leave his home and extended family and set out for a place that will only be made known to him in God’s time. With these instructions, Abraham also receives a promise: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. (Genesis 12:2) Strange words, especially considering that Abraham, at the ripe old age of 75, had no children.
Despite his confusion, Abraham follows the Lord’s command. Step by step, year after year, Abraham yields to the Lord, waiting expectantly for the day when he and his wife, Sarah, will have a child. Yet, after ten years and three more promises from the Lord that Abraham would have an heir, Sarah is still barren and Abraham is confused.
And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15:2-6)
Technically, by the Jewish standards of the day, any child born into Abraham’s household would be considered his heir. So, Abraham asks the Lord for clarification, perhaps thinking that he had clung to false hopes for the past ten years. The Lord, in his great love and mercy, explains to Abraham exactly what he has planned. The child to be born would be Abraham’s child, not his servant’s. Satisfied with this answer, Abraham believed that God would bring it to pass.
Unfortunately, Sarah had other plans. She, too, had waited for ten years for God to fulfill His promise of giving them a child, and frankly, she was tired of waiting. And so, she did what so many of us do when we grow weary of waiting on God—she began to make plans of her own. Desperate for an heir, Sarah convinces Abraham to lie with her servant, Hagar. In a momentary lapse of good judgment, Abraham concedes. Hagar becomes pregnant, and a mess beyond belief is set into motion. All because Sarah refused to wait on God’s perfect timing.
Waiting is not easy, and it is certainly not pleasant. But if God has placed us in one of life’s many waiting rooms, He has a purpose behind it. He is not being cruel. He doesn’t enjoy watching us writhe in misery as we await the things for which we’ve longed. He loves us, and part of that love demands that He do right by us, no matter how much we may not enjoy the process. Waiting is a valuable part of our growth.
God will keep His promises. We needn’t worry about that. As for the wait, well, we must keep in mind that Sarah’s impatience affected far more than just herself and her family. Our impatience will do the same, and I don’t think any of us wants that.
Are you growing weary with waiting? Do you have any advice on how to make the waiting process a little easier?
Tis article is awesome as it renews my hope.
Lemme splain:
As a younger man, I always thought God had a purpose for me. Wasn’t sure what it was or if signs were there and I just missed it. Nevertheless, I kept hoping things would work out knowing there was a plan. Ten years went by while working three jobs. Nothing. Moved to a different city and worked one job 15 hours a day. Nothing. Moved to a different state and could not find a job. Had more kids. Nothing.
One day I went to church with my cousin and I sat up in the balcony because it was empty. Next thing I knew there was this lady a few pews over that came over to me and gave me a note.
The note said: God has a plan for you. She gave it to me without saying a word and went back to her seat.
That was 15 years ago.
I still have that note (pretty sure) to this day.
Whilst I believe that God has a plan for everyone, sometimes the patience does wear a little thin. However, reading an article like this does kinda renew the faith.
Whether it be ten years or fifty years, God does have a plan for all of us and as Tom Petty said: Waiting is the hardest part!
😀
Well said, Nxs. God does indeed have a plan for each of us, and He will allow the details of that plan to unfold in His perfect timing. Until then, we should walk by faith, trusting and believing that God is looking out for our good and that He will keep His promises.
Do I have any great advice? No. The road will be hard, frustrating, disappointing, confusing at times, and, sometimes down right painful. Sometimes you want to quit, and tell God off like some sort of injustice has taken place. That never ends well. After being on this journey of waiting for God to deliver on his promise for four years, what have I learned? We all wait whether we like it or not. There are no shortcuts, book of cheat codes that somehow will make the journey easier. Only that God will be glorified in the journey. That he will at times go silent on you so we learn to trust his voice or small whisper. The only advice I have is this, don’t waste your time doing nothing. Use the wait time to get your life in order whether it be your marriage, finances, health, education, or whatever would prevent you from truly stepping into Gods next step. I will say this, I have hated the journey at times, but I never wasted my time being lazy or idle. Learn to use the time to prepare for what is next.
Thank you for your feedback, Larry. It is truly appreciated. That is great advice. Waiting time shouldn’t be wasted time. God has given each of us jobs to do, and it is in our best interest to keep doing what we know to do until God gives us clear direction to change course.