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8. A Definite Promise


Genesis 18:1-10
Key verse
Then the Lord said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son."
Genesis 18:10

At last, after all the waiting and the wondering and worry, the Lord gives Abraham a definite promise.  Abraham now knows how much longer he will have to wait and he finally knows how God's promise will be fulfilled.  A ninety-year-old woman, Sarah, will actually give birth to a son.  What an amazing thing!  Even so, Abraham believed it and it was credited to him as faith.

How Abraham has grown.  He began as a pagan.  He has walked many long miles over many years while God continued to mold and shape him to become the patriarch of Christ.  What an example of true sanctification.  He has learned what trust is.  He has learned what submission is and he has learned of God's covenants in which God takes the burden mostly on Himself.  Abraham has had failures along the way, but God has remained faithful, teaching Abraham that He is truly trustworthy.

Now Abraham is considered righteous by God.  He has become a man of faith.  "For without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." (Heb.11: 6)  Abraham certainly knows now that God is real.  He is not like the moon god that his father Terah worshiped.  He knows that God exists and that God is good.  Now he is ready, and able to pass this knowledge on to a son.  Now Abraham will be rewarded for his walk of faithfulness.  God will fulfill his promise and Abraham will have a son.  "By faith Abraham, even though he was past age and Sarah herself was barren, was enabled to become a father because he considered Him faithful who had made the promise." (Hebrews 11:11)

Could the same be said of us?  Would our faith wait that long?  Would our faith believe what would seem to be impossible?  Some of those reading this daily devotional may be having trouble just being patient with me and how long I am taking to get to the main event!  After all, we're on day 8 and we're still in Genesis!  Nevertheless, the foundation is being laid as our patience is being tested.  May we also grow in our faith as we observe how patient God is to perfect one man.  Be assured that He will do the same in us.

Hymn: "Who But You?"

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