The Lord is not slack concerning His promise as some count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
Thus, I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.
It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth (Genesis 9:13-15).
Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore, Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son” (Genesis 18: 11-14).
And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him–whom Sarah bore to him–Isaac (Genesis 21:1-3).
God has been making promises or covenants they were called in biblical times since the beginning. We need to understand that God is a promise keeper. God can not lie. His timing is not our timing. He brings His promise to us in a divine way. Many doubt and struggle to trust God.
Some people believe the great or divine promises are too hard for God to do in their lives. They may believe they are not equipped to have divine promises from God. Though you may feel this way God wants us to trust Him to keep His promises to us. We also live in a time where everyone wants everything right now. The mindset now is like the game of show and tell.
God shows us something and we want Him to give it to us right then. We are not interested in the value of the process. We are not willing to mature and grow in the areas we need to. This is important because anything out of season a lot of times does not produce the right fruit. It can lead to mistakes. It can have negative impacts on us. The impact can be setbacks or being embarrassed by your mistakes because you went ahead of God and were impatient.
If these scriptures show us nothing else, they show us that with God promises are about the process and timing. Abraham waited a lifetime to get the son who would create many nations after him, but God kept his promise. God divinely picked Noah’s family to be saved from the flood, and later on He promised to spare the world from ever facing it again.
He promised to remind us through the rainbow He would place in the sky. I do not care what scientific phenomenon you come up with for the rainbow. I do know that God created the phenomenon and allowed man to scientifically discover it.
We live in a world where a person keeping their promises to us are rare these days. Though this is true God is a promise keeper. He remains constant in keeping His promises. The process to get to the promise may be filled with ups and downs, but God will be faithful to us no matter what.
We may become slack in our paths of being led into what God has for us. God, however, will not be slack. He will divinely get us to do what He has called us to do. The promise He makes with any of us is for the greater good of the Kingdom of God. God has a divine assignment for every believer.
His promises are so that He will be glorified. He also uses the promises to establish His kingdom and bring others to Christ. His promises show us that we have a purpose. Sometimes legacy is His promise just like with Abraham. Sometimes breaking a generational curse is His promise just like the lineage of Jacob and Essau. God has a promise for us that He will complete.
Over ten years ago I desired to be active with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and I started interning for them. God showed me that this would lead to other opportunities. I thought it would lead to being very active with them long-term. A few months after I started interning, I had the opportunity to pursue my graduate degree. I had to make a hard decision. I could keep interning or pursue my master’s degree.
I chose to pursue my master’s degree. My internship ended and I was now on a different path. I still knew NAMI was a passion of mine. I tried to get connected in the other cities I moved to, but they were not as active as my previous affiliate. After twelve years I got reconnected. God had told me early on that I would present for NAMI. This week I presented for NAMI, and it opened the door for another opportunity.
Remember you may get off course, but in the end, God will move you into your purpose. You can count on God to keep His promises because He is never slack or late. Yes, we face obstacles, unfortunate circumstances, grief, and loss, but God is still faithful.
As I believed and waited for another opportunity in those twelve years, I faced many hardships, and I thought it would never happen. I’m sure Sarah and Abraham felt the same way. I also believe Noah and his family may have been frightened in the ark trusting that they too would not perish.
Though this is true, you can count on God to keep His promises.
Resilient Inspired Spiritual Excellence R.I.S.E. 