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Abrahams Promise: Why did it take God so long to fulfill it?
What was Abrahams promise? He had a promise from God that he would be made the father of many nations. This was made at a time when he couldn't see any of it being fulfilled. Just like many other promises made, the fulfillment depends on us to come to fruition. It took many years for his covenant to be completely fulfilled, but it did happen exactly as God had spoken.
You see God's promise to us is alot like Abrahams. God enters into a covenant with us which is another word for an agreement that cannot be broken. In Abraham's day a covenant was serious business!! Two people would 'cut covenant' or cut an animal in two and both of them would walk in between the two halves of the animal to signify that they were making a covenant. The significance of this was that they understood that if they broke their covenant or promise to one another after walking between the two halves of a sacrificed animal, they would die. No wonder they always keep their covenant or agreement with one another! Today we live under a new covenant which no longer requires us to walk in between two animal halves. However God still expects us to keep our promises or covenants with one another.
This can be hard for us to understand because today many people make promises or tell us that they will follow through on things. However due to unforeseen circumstances some of them aren't able to keep their promise while others promise without ever intending to follow through and the agreement is broken. But it doesn't work that way for God. When He makes a promise He always delivers. We can always rely on God to keep His word and never break His promises to us. He is the same yesterday, as He is today and will be in the future. But that doesn't mean He will deliver on His promises right way.
Praying the Promises of God over Children Abrahams Promise and God's Promises to Us
Just as God had made a covenant with Abraham, to fulfill Abrahams promise, He is also keeping His promises to us. You see God's promise to Abraham is alot like His promise to us. But that doesn't mean He will deliver on his promise right away. Many times God is trying to build character in us and it requires us to wait a little longer than we would like! But don't lose heart, this exercise in patience is only meant to make you stronger. Why, you may ask do I need to be stronger? Because God has some big plans for you when He makes good on his promise. Just as He made good on the promise to Abraham. Abrahams promise from God was to have many children or descendants from his son Issac. Remember when God told him to try to count all the stars in the sky, his descendants would outnumber these stars? God wants to fulfill your promise but He needs to wait until you are ready to receive your promise from Him. What, you say you are ready to receive it right now? Well, maybe you should think about that for a minute. Many times God makes us wait for the promise because He is trying to build character in us: patience, long suffering etc. If you received your promise right away you probably wouldn't appreciate it as much, may not be able to handle the responsibilities of it and might even take it for granted or think YOU were responsible for it happening so quickly! And you know that God wants to make sure you aren't glorified for the blessings He provides for you. He wants to make sure that He is glorified! These big plans God has for us require that we are ready to walk in His promises and sometimes this is difficult when we are immature or young Christians. So God needs to walk alongside us and work out the character He needs in us. This happens so He can fulfill His goals for us. And, oh yeah, the promise you've been waiting for, just like Abrahams promise, will be the fulfillment of this assignment. What better reward for our patience and obedience to God!
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Have you ever felt like God spoke a promise into your life like Abrahams promise but it has taken a very long time for it to happen? I know I have. Sometimes I even get to the point of doubting or not believing God for the promises He has made for me, especially when I've waited a very long time or when things don't look favorable for me. I wonder how many times while Abraham was waiting did he doubt that he had heard God's voice? We must be very careful to not allow the doubt to creep in because it can keep the promise from coming to pass. James 1:6-8 says
"But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do".