Patience

Patience is probably the one thing I struggle with the most. I get excited and my mind races and I just cant help myself.

    In Genesis 15, God makes Abram a promise and not just any promise. He promises him a future, a legacy, descendants as countless as the stars. Abram believes God, but he also asks the question so many of us ask when the waiting starts to take longer than we expected "How will I know?"

   That question doesn't offend God. God doesn't tell Abram to have more faith or stop asking. Instead, He makes a covenant and walks through it Himself explaining what is to come. And yet nothing happens right away.

   By Genesis 16, the waiting has gone on long enough and Sarah is tired. Abraham is getting old. So they do what we're all tempted to do, they try to help God. They come up with a plan that makes sense in the moment. It's practical. It's logical. And it creates a mess they never intended.

      That's usually how it works when I try to help God. I don't do it because I don't believe Him. I do it because waiting makes me anxious, and anxiety wants control. Then in Genesis 17, God shows up again. He simply reminds them of who they are. Abram becomes Abraham. Sarai becomes Sarah. God changes their identity before He changes their circumstances. No baby yet. No visible proof yet. Just a reminder that His promise still stands even after the mess they created.

    Genesis 18 might be my favorite. God shows up in the middle of an ordinary moment, sitting down for a meal. No big spiritual production. Just conversation. And God repeats the promise once more "About this time next year..."

    Sarah laughs. She wasn't laughing at God, just the situation. She's old, how is it even possible...I get it, i laugh in awkward moments too. But God responds so gently "Is anything too hard for the Lord?"That question always brings me back to when our kids were little. We used to sing that old song to them when they were antsy or impatient...

🎶 “Have patience, have patience, don’t be in such a hurry…” 🎶

I sang it to teach them to wait but I'm realizing now God was teaching me too.

Because patience Is trusting God when nothing seems to be happening. It's resisting the urge to fix, force, or rush what He’s already promised to do. When I get impatient, I usually start to worry. And when I worry, I start grabbing the steering wheel.

    Genesis 15-18 reminds me that God doesn't need my help. He needs my trust. And even when I make a mess trying to move things along, He doesn't walk away. He redeems. He restores. He stays faithful.

So faith is less about helping God and more aboyt learning to wait without panicking.

🎶 'Remember, remember, that God is patient too."🎶

And what He has promised....He will finish.

Love Pastor Mandy 

Ark of Hope Ministry 

Daily reading Genesis 15-18