Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess
for He who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23
When I saw that Hebrews 10:23 was the verse we were writing on, my heart did a little jump inside. This is my “most favorite-est” verse in the Bible.
When I first got saved this verse held me up through many storms and confused nights. I’d cry from feeling so close to defeat, but would cling to knowing that “He who promised is faithful.” Written in my Bible I have a note next to this verse that says “regardless of how things seem!” How true?!
God promises us things that seem so impossible sometimes. We know that His promises are true. We know He cannot tell a lie and we know He is faithful. And yet, what our eyes see and our minds perceive is something totally different. The question remains: “Which do you believe?” We rely on our eyes daily to show us the world around us. Our eyes are tangible. However, we KNOW that God is to be trusted. Both seem right.
A prime example of this type of situation is that of the story of Abraham. In Genesis 12:1-3, God gave (then) Abram a command and several blessings. Genesis 12:4 tells us that Abraham was 25 at the time. In Genesis 21:1-5, God’s promise is fulfilled. Genesis 21:5 says that Abraham was (now) 100 years old. Think of it this way: not only did God’s promise take 9 chapters in the Bible to actualize, but it took 75 years. Say it with me ‘75 years‘! God promised Abraham that he would have a son. He told Abraham this while he and his wife were very young – “the optimized time for child-bearing” and yet! God waited until both of them were old and well passed “child-bearing” age to provide them with a child.
From his story we know that Abraham and his wife got impatient with God and (in Genesis 16) took matters into their own hands. Abraham laid with his wife’s servant and Ishmael, a son, was born to him. This, of course, was not God’s plan; therefore, strife resulted from this situation. We must be careful that we are not trying to rush God’s hand while waiting. 75 years. That’s a l-o-o-o-ng time to wait, especially for children, but for anything at all!
What promise is it that you are clinging to from God?
Does His word support it? Yes? Good!
Now ask yourself: Are you willing to wait 75 years for it?
