Friends, we have journeyed a long way since our first week together in this study. I wish we could gather around the table and share how God has met us in these pages of His Word, the victories we’ve experienced as we stopped hiding behind the mask of perfection, and the encouragement we’ve received as God has continued to keep His promises.
On our first day together, we read about the way Abram was told to “go” – to leave what he knew, what was good, what was comfortable, and head into the unknown with faith that God would keep His promises. In faith, Abraham and Sarah chose to believe that God would do what He said He would do, even through years of uncertainty and mistakes. Though their decisions were not perfect, their God was and always will be.
We have seen God keep His promises to Abraham and Sarah, blessing them with a son, Isaac. Now we’re in his story, one that very much mirrors what his father experienced. In our reading today we discover that there is a second famine in the land, but unlike the directive Abraham received from God, Isaac is told to stay.
Maybe Isaac, having grown up with a father who had the faith to “go” when he would rather stay, was ready and willing to say “yes” to the next part of the journey. Being on the move was easier for him because he had experienced the faithfulness of his parents, and the journey toward God’s Promised Land was all he had ever known.
But to stay? While Abraham’s faith grew in the “going,” God knew Isaac’s would be found in the waiting.
Where Abram was told to “go,” Isaac is told to “stay.” This is a tension I still wrestle with in my faith and in my life. There have been seasons where God has called me out of my comfort zone, asked me to let go of something good to make room for something better, and my fear has held me back. The “what if” questions start rolling through my mind, the list of reasons why someone else would be a better choice, a quick recap of all the mistakes I’ve made and the doubts I’ve had.
In other seasons, I have found myself passionate and excited about doing something new. I know if I could just go, do, build, create, convince, or manage it, those doors would open and those opportunities I wanted so badly would be revealed. When God puts the call to “stay” on my heart, to wait on Him, be patient and have faith while He does the work instead of pushing my own agenda forward, I feel frustrated. The “if only I could…” ideas start rolling through my mind, trying to convince myself that my timing and talent are good enough to make it happen.
In both experiences, God has been merciful and gracious to walk with me as I go and remain beside me as I wait.
Where is God asking you to wait on Him today? What have you been pushing forward, striving toward, trying to make happen in your own time, that God is not yet ready for you to experience? May you choose to walk closely today with our perfect God, even with imperfect faith, trusting and believing that His plans, His timing, and His love for you are better than our best could ever be.
