God Always Keeps His Promises But...

God always keeps His promises. That is a truth you can take to the bank and cash. God always keeps His promises because He can not lie and He can not lie because He is holy. (Numbers 23:19, Leviticus 20:26) God always keeps His promises BUT in His time, not ours. Timing is the big “but” in the room! It is also truth, but not what we always want to hear or accept.

We can clearly see examples of timing and promises in the bible. I’m going to focus only on two, Abraham and Isaac. The bible credits Abraham as a man of faith. (Hebrews 11) God promised to make him the father of many nations but there was just one problem, he didn’t have any children. (Genesis 12) Sarah was barren and in the world’s eyes, too old to even get pregnant and carry a child. Abraham was 75 years old when he first set out after God’s promise and Sarah was 65. Two ages that would seem like time to slow down and not just get started. God reaffirms in Genesis 15 that Abraham himself would have a child with Sarah and not just hand over his possessions to one of his servants. So how long until Abraham received the promise and held the long awaited child in his arms? 25 years! Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac came. (Genesis 21)

If it was up to us, we would get the promise the next day. Maybe even Abraham felt this way. We can hold out for a little while, but how long does it take before we start to doubt the promise? How many months or years can we hold out before we start to think God forgot us or even maybe we didn’t hear Him correctly. How long till we start to talk ourselves out of our promise?

Next, lets look at Isaac. The promise God gave Abraham carried over to Isaac. God was going to multiply this family and make them so large you wouldn’t be able to count them. Isaac married Rebekah when he was 40 (Genesis 25) and she also was barren. Isaac prayed to God and God told him they would have twins. However, it was 20 years until they would have those children! 25 years Abraham had to wait and 20 years for Isaac.

So why does God wait so long to give us what He promised? I believe we may not know all of the answers to this question. However, I believe there are a few general reasons that we can look at.

We’re not ready.

Think of it as a parent leaving an inheritance to their child. The money is in the bank. It is guaranteed, but the child needs to reach a certain age first. Why? Simply they are not mature enough to handle the money yet. If they got their hands on the money before they could mentally handle it, the result would be disastrous. Money meant for a lifetime would be gone in a week or two. I believe God makes us wait for some promises because He knows giving them before we’re ready would destroy us. Remember He is always a Father too. He cares for us as His children and the bible says He gives us good gifts. (Luke 11:13) He knows a gift may be good, but if we're not ready it hurts us.

It’s not the optimal time.

If you’ve ever gardened or grown fruits or vegetables you know about optimal time. There is an optimal window of time for the harvest. Harvested too early you get a crop that is bitter, doesn’t taste good, and maybe not even edible. If you wait too long you have a crop that is wilted, spoiled, and foul tasting. Yet in the the right time, the optimal time, you get a crop that is delicious, satisfying, and pleasing to the eyes. It’s all in the timing. God knows when to fulfill the promise. He knows what time will make the greatest impact. He knows that He could bless you today, but the testimony wouldn’t be as large as if you waited a few more months, years, decades. This is because again, life is not all about you. God cares about us individuals and collectively. If having us wait a little longer will speak to another person and they repent, giving their life to God, then our waiting is fully justified. God is in the people business!

Now there is a warning in all of this and it is called Ishmael. When we get ahead of God’s timing and take things into our hands, we end up with Ishamels. Sarah was getting ancy waiting for Isaac (the promised one) to show up. In Genesis 16 she gives her servant Hagar to Abraham to have a child with. Sarah was scared that the ultimate promise wouldn’t happen so, she settled for a second rate fulfillment. As a result, Ishmael later verbally mocked Isaac. (Genesis 21) What we settle for will try to stop our promises from happening and even when we get the promise it will be there to try and diminish that promise. It’s best to not settle for an Ishamel and wait for Isaac.

Many of us have promises we are waiting for. Many of us have been waiting patiently and sometimes impatiently for their fulfillment. Know that God always keeps His word. It is our job to continue to trust. That is easier said than done at times. When we feel weary the bible is clear that we should come to Him. Matthew 11:28-30 says “ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Coming to God keeps us from taking things into our own hands. It gives us time to pause before we give into the irrational thoughts of our minds. It doesn’t matter how many times we have to do this. Once a day or 30 times a day, when we feel weary from waiting for our promise, go to God and tell Him we’re weary from waiting for the promise. God will always meet us where we’re at and He will never turn us away.