Has God ever told you something and you responded, "Yea, right." ?
Abraham was 75 years old when God first promised him that he would be a father of many nations. And his wife Sarah? The Bible says, "...and Sarah [was] old and well stricken in age: and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women" (Genesis 18:11), which means that Sarah was old and her body had stopped doing "baby prep". This idea was so far-fetched in Sarah's mind that she laughed and God had to challenge her asking, "Is any thing too hard for the Lord?" (Genesis 18:14).
Has God told you that He was going to perform a miracle in your life, and your first response was disbelief? It's easy to believe in God when you imagine what the outcome could look like, or at least you think you can. It's much more difficult to stand on God's promises when we haven't even thought that far.
Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." When God has announced Himself in our lives, it's our only job to believe what He is saying and to walk in the new facts He has presented us. God doesn't need us to figure out how He's going to give us what He promised, because He knows that we will get it wrong, but often in our impatience we will act outside of God's will.
In Genesis 12:7, God promises Abraham that his seed will inherit the land. In Genesis 16:1, Sarah thinks that God needs help and sends her handmaiden Hagar to give Abraham the son God promised, which made Abraham 86 when Ishmael was born. Yet, God told Abraham again in Genesis 17:19 that he would have a son with his wife - who was now 90 years old and Abraham himself now 99. Finally, we get to Genesis 21:5 where Abraham is 100 years old when Isaac is born.
All God required of Abraham for this particular miracle, was for Abraham to believe that God was going to do what He said He was going to do. From Genesis 12-20 Abraham's life continued and God moved in Abraham's life in other ways. God spoke to Abraham about other plans, but in God's promise of a son, God needed Abraham to wait and believe.
Often times in this walk we feel that God has forgotten about His promises to us, or that we aren't doing enough to "help" God along. We have to understand that sometimes, God just needs us to wait on Him because He does all things perfectly and in His time.
Our obedience to God's promises is in exercise in our faith. God will require for us to go above and beyond our job descriptions, or make life decisions that do not appear to make sense, but when we hear from God we have to make sure that we are obedient and patient. We have to stand firm in God's Word. We have to believe that no matter what:
"... we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
(Romans 8:28)
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