promise keeper

Yesterday I wrote about wrestling with repeatedly hearing "wait". This morning I didn't read very far in my Bible before tears flowed. You cannot tell me it was a coincidence that this was the next passage in my alone time with God:

"For when God made a promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater by whom to swear, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of His purpose, He guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."

"Having patiently waited..."

Those three words stopped me in my tracks.

Made me pay closer attention to what I was reading.

Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.

God is a promise keeper. 

Always faithful and true. 

What He has promised, He will do. 

In His time.

In His way. 

To fulfill the unchangeable character of His purpose.

To advance His Kingdom. 

Those who love and follow Jesus are heirs of the promise God made to Abraham. 

The promise Abraham waited patiently to be fulfilled.

Read that passage again. What beautiful truths does it speak to your soul?

Our hope is firm and secure. Sure and steadfast. Because it rests, not in what we have done or not done, not in who we are or what our heritage is. Our hope rests in who God is and what Jesus did and continues to do. We can patiently wait, knowing that God loves us and He is a promise keeper.

I am not always patient in my waiting. It's going to be difficult but I think it will be worth the fight to learn to do this one thing well, to wait patiently. Expectantly. Resting in knowing He who promised is faithful, always and all ways. Why make the effort? Because my life, my faith, like Abraham's, affects the lives of others. Now and in the future. I want that impact to be life giving, pointing people to the One who keeps His promises, always and all ways.