Creating an Ishmael, Expecting an Isaac

Have you ever been waiting on God for something and it just seems like he wasn't responding? You've tried being faithful and waiting for a period of time, but it just didn't seem as though the promise was coming to pass. Most of us find ourselves in these types of situations because we feel God should move at our pace. At that point, we start searching for alternatives to substitute his promise, instead of trusting God’s word. God is faithful.

We cannot fulfill God’s plan prematurely. Having faith is more than just believing God for today, you have to constantly believe that God will provide. You can’t give up or allow doubts to enter your mind. Instead cast down every thought that contradicts God’s promise (2 Corinthians 10:5). When we try to substitute the promise, we create unnecessary grief and sadness for others and ourselves.

God made a promise to Abraham that he would have as many children as there were stars (Genesis 15:5). God did not tell Abraham when the promise would come to pass; he just let him know that it would. Abraham believed God for a moment, but later agreed with his wife, Sarah, to conceive a child with her maid, Hagar (Genesis 16:2). After Hagar became pregnant, Sarah grew angry and dealt so harshly with Hagar that she ran away (16:3). God appeared to Hagar and instructed her to return to Sarah. He promised to multiply her descendants that they shall not be counted. She was instructed to return home where she would give birth to her son, Ishmael (Genesis 16:8-12). Later, God appeared to Abraham to remind him of the promise; Abraham thought he already had the promise. However, God made the covenant regarding the seed that would come from Abraham and Sarah, not Hagar; the promise had not yet been fulfilled. It would only be fulfilled years later when Sarah gave birth to Isaac, just as God promised (Genesis 17).

Although Ishmael became apart of the promise, he was NOT the promise God had chosen for Abraham. He looked like he could have been the promise, because it seemed as though God was not responding as quickly as Abraham and Sarah thought he should. Instead, the process of conceiving Ishmael created grief, jealousy, and sadness for both Sarah and Hagar.

When we substitute God’s promises, we don’t know what’s in store for us. When we wait on God, we can be sure we are receiving a good and perfect gift (James 1:17). God will fulfill is promise in His time, not when we think its time. His ways are not our ways, and his thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). They are so much greater than anything we could ever think imagine! We can be sure that we will receive all of God’s promises whether it’s a ministry we wish to start, future spouse, children, or job, if we remain faithful and wait on Him.

Godly Reminders

Hebrews 11:1 & 6
Isaiah 40:31


by Marquisha Harden