January 15: Genesis 17 1-8

Key Verse: Genesis 17 1
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.

Devotion:
Abraham was promised he would have a son by his wife Sarah many years before this time and both Abraham and Sarah had had their moments of doubt and disbelief, but now God was going to remind him of this promise. It is most likely God appeared to Abraham in human form to make sure he stopped and listened. Previously Abraham had listened to his wife and had taken Hagar in order to have a child – but that was not what God had promised!

There are going to be times in our lives when we do have doubts because things are not happening in the timescales we have laid down or because we have imposed our own limits instead of listening to God and waiting on Him alone! We may not get the same treatment by having God appear before us to remind us to wait on Him, but wait is what we need to do.

When God is ready to use us, we should be ready and willing to obey His commands; it is not up to us to impose restrictions on God whether they are limits on what we think He can do or time constraints we think things should be done within. Trusting in God and waiting on Him becomes a huge test of faith for us…

When we do stop and listen, God can guide us properly and we will end up giving the glory back to Him as He accomplishes His will in our lives. The people around us will be encouraged by the faith we have displayed and their doubt will be lifted when they see God answering our prayers or fulfilling His promises!

Points to Ponder:
Do you like waiting?

How long will you wait on God?