Waiting in the Wings

Deuteronomy 7:9 (VOICE) I want you to know that the Eternal your God is the only true God. He’s the faithful God who keeps His covenants and shows loyal love for a thousand generations to those who in return love Him and keep His commands.

As I have walked with God, there have been numerous times when He reaffirms His personal promises to me. When He does this, it is always in a time when my hope in those promises needs some resuscitation. God is so gracious. He knows how hard it is for us to hang onto His promises through the storms of life. He sees all and knows with certainty that His plan for us is good and well worth the wait. But God also knows that we desperately need His strength to hold onto His Word. As difficult as waiting on God can be at times, I have to say that I am always challenged and changed as God reveals Himself to me throughout the waiting process.

One time, when hope was waning in my heart, God showed me how invested He was in His promises to me. In an instant, I saw that the manifestation of my dreams were more than a way for Him to lavish His love and blessings upon me. Yes, He is zealous for me, and I am humbled that He cares enough to have even made such promises. However, I was reminded that through those promises, God had become my covenant partner. Like Noah, Abraham, David, and so many others, God invested His own desires, hopes, and dreams into my promises. And because I love Him so, I gladly made room for Him.

Through the years, I have watched God nurture my dreams like tiny seeds. They have flourished in His hands into something far larger than I could have ever imagined on my own. But in order to continue holding onto His ever-expanding promises, my faith has had to grow too. I am like a woman with child, and my womb has been stretched to capacity! Being pregnant with God’s promises suddenly means that more than just my own life is involved. If I stop believing in God’s promises, I will literally prevent the manifestation of His kingdom on earth.

I often wonder if Abraham understood the gravity of God’s promises to him. Even after the birth of Isaac and facing the sacrifice of his son, could Abraham have imagined what God would do through his descendants? Because Abraham chose to believe and obey God, his faith led to the birth of the nation of Israel. The nation of Israel led to the birth of the Messiah. And the Messiah ultimately has paved the way for the birthing of the sons of God. If Abraham had let go of God’s promises, there would be no gospel. There would be no outpouring of the Holy Spirit. You and I would not get to delight in covenantal union with God.

And this is basically the point of being God’s covenant partner. His kingdom come, His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. God cares for us so much that He has invested all of Himself in His promises. He is all in. God’s promises are just as much a risk for us as they are for Him. If we do not uphold them through faith, then who will? This means faith in God’s promises is about more than mental ascent—it is about mutuality, trust, loving sacrifice, and it requires radical obedience.

Romans 4:3 (VOICE) because as the Scriptures say, “Abraham believed God and trusted in His promises, so God counted it to his favor as righteousness.”