Hi I’m Sian and I’m still waiting. *insert AA HI SIAN here* I am a waiter (not the carrying dishes kind – the OH MY WORD WHEN IS THIS GOING TO END kind). We are all waiting. We are constantly waiting for something: A spouse. Our children. That amazing job. A new car. Family to reconcile. Friends to know Jesus. For God to fulfil a word spoken over us. Even if you’re not waiting for anything and you have everything you’ve ever wanted, we are all waiting to be united with the Trinity in heaven. So there’s that. We WAIT. But why, why do we wait? We wait because we don’t have a choice in the matter. Actually that’s not true, we DO have a choice. The choice is to wait and trust God OR to Make A Plan and take matters into our own hands. Let me break it down for you: I am 36 – considered a grown up in every culture. Single. Childless. Waiting. I don’t have to be childless OR single. I could quite easily find a guy and through the sheer force of my personality get him to marry me and father my children. TADAAAAA! Happiness! But at what cost?! If I do not wait for what I believe God has for me, I will bear myself an Ishmael when God has promised me an Isaac.
The biblical story goes as follows. Picture it: Abraham and Sarah both super old – too old for kids, we’re talking in their 90’s here. God himself speaks to Abraham and tells him that he and Sarah will have a son. Joy all round you say? Not so much. Sarah – being the relatable woman that she is – LAUGHS! She doesn’t believe it’s possible, so in her wisdom she makes a plan. She calls her maidservant Hagar (who the bible describes as young and meek) and tells Abraham to have the promised child with her. Which he does and Hagar has a son named Ishmael. HOWEVER this is not the child that God promised because that child, God said, would come from Sarah. Hagar and Ishmael end up bringing so much drama to Sarah and her family that Hagar flees for her life into the desert. Ishmael grows up and his descendants bring endless problems to the people of Israel for generations. What I’m trying to say is – there will be consequences when you birth an Ishmael. Bad ones. Generational ones. FOURTEEN years later Sarah eventually has her son, just as God said she would. Isaac the ancestor of Jesus. Now I’m not judging Sarah – not for one single minute! I get it. I understand wanting something so badly that you will make a plan. But don’t. Learn from Sarah. Side step the drama, the resulting consequences and remain steadfast. You will see the Isaac that God has promised you, because God is the Keeper of all His promises!
Waiting seems simple – but it’s not. It’s a process, and process always precedes promise. Here are 3 things I have found helpful when waiting it out:
- Be Patient – in FAITH and the knowledge that GOD is good
- Persevere – in the face of opposition, when it feels desperate and you’re disappointed hold onto the fact that God is with you
- Perspective – look at the bigger picture, see your situation like God sees it
Let’s learn from Sarah’s life and resist the desire to take matters into our own hands. Just wait, wait for your promise! It’s coming! I’m waiting too, let’s wait it out together.
By Sian Brown
