Right after Abraham's failure of
lying, he reached the pinnacle moment of his life. At the age of
one hundred, he had the son promised to him by God. Finally, after
years and years and years of waiting for God's promises to be
fulfilled God gave him a son. God didn't even think about Abraham's
failure of lying anymore, but blessed him with the thing he wanted
most, a son.
"Then the Lord did exactly what
He had promised. Sarah became pregnant, and she gave a son to
Abraham in his old age. It all happened at the time God had said it
would." Genesis 21:1, 2
I really do not think that Chapter
20 and 21 was put together by chance. It was placed right after one
another by the Holy Spirit to teach us a very important principle.
God doesn't dwell on our mistakes, but wants to bless us at just
the right time. God didn't ponder on Abraham's mistake and judged
him for it, no; in fact God spoiled him by giving him what he
wanted most. God knew Abraham's heart, He knew how much faith he
had and He knew how much Abraham loved Him. And He blessed him for
it.
And today God isn't pondering the
whole day on your past mistakes. We might think He does, but He
doesn't. God has forgiven us all our sins, past, present and
future.
"And what a difference between
our sin and God's generous gift of forgiveness. For this one man,
Adam, brought death to many through his sin. But this other man,
Jesus Christ, brought forgiveness to many through God's bountiful
gift." Romans 5:15
God's forgiveness is a gift to
take. Take it today. Stop pondering on the past. Forgive yourself
for your past mistakes and move on. God has already forgiven you;
therefore you need to forgive yourself now. Then you can move
forward into God's blessings waiting for you.
I, myself, have received promises
from the Lord and today I will look forward to them being fulfilled
once again and will not become despondent. Abraham waited 25 years
from receiving God's promise until Isaac finally came. Twenty five
years. For us that might feel like a lifetime, but God is not slow
in fulfilling His promises, no, He waits for the right time when
all will work out perfectly.
God is in control of the
impossible. He gave Abraham a child when he was 100 years old and
Sarah 90 years old. And in God's eyes, the timing was just perfect.
Abraham enjoyed his son for seventy five years. God gave him enough
time to see his son grow into the man of God that God created him
to be. Abraham's life worked out just the way God had planned it
and so will yours. All you need to do is to love God like Abraham
did, to follow His instructions and to rest in Him. It is not too
much to ask. God wants to lead you to green pastures, just like a
Shepherd. Allow Him to. Do not be wayward and get lost along the
way. No, rather follow the tender, sweet voice of the Shepherd, and
then you will never be lost. You will be safe and cared for. Isn't
that just a marvellous place to be?
Thank you Father that Jesus is our
Shepherd. Thank you that You sent Your lovely Son to come and guide
us. Thank you that You have so many wonderful things planned for
us. We are excited and we hold onto Your promises just like Abraham
did. We love You and revere You as our God. Amen