The Journey

If you are like me, you always want to know and believe that you are walking in accordance to the will of God. You pray about every decision you have to make and ask that God guides your path. Most times we go as far as asking him for all the signs in order to be fully assured that he is in support of our decisions. Sometimes he speaks to us directly (through his words, siblings, friends, parents, pastors and dreams) about our situations and provides us with direction to make the right decision.

However, even after being so sure that we made the right decision or heard from God about our situation, we are faced with trials that may make us question the promises of God for our life or the decision we made. We are not in this alone. Our life will not be the first to witness trails even after God has ordained and promised greatness.

Genesis chapters 12 -18 talks about Abraham’s journey to the realization of God’s promise
1. At 75years old God directed him to move his family and household to a land he will show them and made this promise to him “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Gen. 12:2-3. Naturally, with a promise like above you feel you can do and conquer anything. You believe all your dreams will come true and more. You are determined to make God proud.

2. Abram got to Egypt and told his wife Sarai this "When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, "I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, ¹²and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. ¹³Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake." Gen 12:11-13. Remember we promised to make God proud… Did we just lie?? Did we just do or say something we are not proud of???

3. Abram does not have any child (@75) yet he is told .... "The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, ¹⁵for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. ¹⁶ I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted." Gen. 13: 14-16. So we sin, we get disciplined ( just as Abraham got kicked out of Egypt) and then makes us another big promise (Which to some of us may sound unrealistic).

4. Sarai tries in her own human way to get to the promise - 2And Sarai said to Abram, "Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children^[a] by her." And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. ¹⁶Abram was eighty-six(86) years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram. Gen 16:2,16. Sometimes we subconsciously think we can play God or that we can figure it all out or we know how it should be or how things should work out. Sometimes I wonder if this attitude of trying to work out His promises in our own way is not what delays Him in making something known to us….???

5. Abraham is reminded of how he should live…. ¹When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty;^[a] walk before me, and be blameless, ²that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.". God has always been merciful and a God of second chances. When we mess up, He is always there to point us in the right direction and remind us of who we are and what His promises for us are.

6. A change had to take place…. ⁵No longer shall your name be called Abram,^[b] but your name shall be Abraham,^[c] for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 5And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah^[d] shall be her name. Gen 16:5.  Sometimes we need to make some major changes in our life the promise of God come to pass. It might be a change in location, character, career, or even a name as in Abraham and Sarah’s case. 

7. With God, A promise is a promise!-Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" ¹⁸And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before you!" ¹⁹God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac.^[f] I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. Gen 17:17. Abraham has a son Ishmael and God promised to bless him. However, the promise was not fulfilled with Ishmael’s birth. God still wanted to fulfill his original promise. Abraham is 25years away from the initial promise. With mistakes and challenges along the way, he is about to settle with Ishmael. He is trying to proof to God why his promises maybe impossible to attain. I have caught myself acting smart with God before and I’m sure you have too…. Did it change Him???? No it did not and will not.. This is because when He promises.. He has the execution plans all worked out.

8. The promise is fulfilled- And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. ³Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.Gen 21: 2-3. His Promises for your life and my life will be fulfilled.. there maybe a few hurdles, mistakes and disappointment along the way, but one thing is for sure, if he has promised, it will come to pass! Therefore “ Just because it is looking difficult does not mean it was not ordained or promised by God”

God bless you all

xxx