SETTLING FOR LESS

Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!”  But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. (Genesis 17:17-19)

We often bargain with God. God had given Abraham an astounding promise that he would bear a son and that from that child a great nation and a lasting covenant would come.

It seemed good at the time, but the years rolled on, and no child came. Finally, in a desperate act, Sarai and Abram conspired and had a child through her Egyptian maid, and they named him Ishmael. Abraham loved the boy and perhaps assumed that this alternate plan might work.

THE PRECISION OF GOD

But God is precise. He knew what he intended and why. The fact of Sara’s aging body and barren womb and Abraham’s age of 99 did not deter the Creator of All. Understanding the reasons for Abraham’s faltering faith, God came again to reassure his friend of His promise.

Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him. (Ge 17:3)

What Abraham needed was a conversation with the Almighty, which is what we always need. Abraham bargained again with what he thought was good reasoning. “Oh, that Ishamael might live before you!”

We don’t know what Abraham’s reasoning was behind this attempt. Perhaps he loved his 13-year-old son, or he thought God might be incapable of fulfilling His promise because of the old believer’s aging body. But God was not unkind. He promised to also bless Ishamael but reminded Abraham of His clear promise.

“But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.”  (Ge 17:21).

GOD’S PLAN

God always has precise intentions with His plans. Forever, God would show the world and His people that He was God alone and there was no other. That He could even fulfill His precise plans when man’s abilities were absolutely dead.

When God has spoken to you, do not doubt His abilities. That’s the essence of faith. God is not only out to bless you, but to prove His power and faithfulness to a watching world. Believe Him for His precise fulfillment. He knows what He’s about. He is never in a hurry, but always on time.