"Your decisions are the direct result of truly knowing yourself" -Erwin McManus
She orders coffee and looks around the room, looking for a place to sit. If only her search for a seat was as easy as finding satisfaction in this life these days. In the past, when she felt God calling her to wait for something, or go somewhere, her faith had always been the rock that steadied her. Now, after the years, she felt much like Sarah in Genesis ... well aware of God's promises but weary in the waiting. Disappointment over time turns hope into resentment and she wanted relief now.
Finding a seat and pulling out her Bible, she wandered what changed for Sarah? When exactly was it that she believed God to be faithful? Was it when Hagar bore Ishmael? After she recognized the implications of trying to initiate God's promise her way? Or was it after she laughed to herself in a tent where the same promise God spoke of seemed to just linger at her old age of ninety? When exactly did trusting in God completely permeate the heart of Sarah? She remembered Hebrews saying that, "... by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise" (Hebrews 11:11).
There's something so beautiful and human about Sarah's faith. Filled with laughter, faults, and a resolve to look heavenward, her faith withstood the test of time. Why? Because she believed in the God who made her a promise, without seeing (or experiencing) the fullness of the promise. "All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth" (Hebrews 11:13).
We now stand on the other end of the cross. The promise of our loving Savior came, died and was resurrected. Jesus now sits at the right hand of His Father ... and He will come again. Are we living in the confidence of the Triune God who makes true on His promises, or are we consumed with our present circumstances?
She grabs her coffee and closes her Bible. Once deflated, her spirit is now comforted and encouraged in God's Word. She gives her inner doubts and bad attitude to the Lord and asks for forgiveness. Nothing has changed in regards to her circumstances and waiting, but her countenance has a renewed sense of faith ... she believes her God is faithful.
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