2022 Breakthrough Fast: Day 16
Waiting for Promises with Faith - Part 2
Waiting on the promises of God is a very difficult thing to do. One of the reasons is because of our own expectations about God keeping His promises, and there are two aspects of our expectations that make it difficult.
One is the “when” - when will God fulfill His promise. Waiting on God to fulfill His promises is one of the great realities of walking with God. Throughout the Bible we read of people waiting on God to fulfill His promises saying, “How long?” Among them are the writers of the Psalms. There is David who prays, “My soul is greatly dismayed. But, You, O Lord, how long?” (Ps. 6:3). There is Asaph who prays, “How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever?” (Psalm 74:10). And there is Ethan the Ezrahite who mourns the loss of God’s favor for His people saying, “How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?” (Psalm 89:46).
Then there are the prophets such as Isaiah who, when he is told of the seemingly lack of success of his prophetic ministry, questions, “How long, O Lord?” (Isa. 6:11). There is the prophet Habakkuk, who seeing the depths of sin of the people of God, pleads, “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save?” (Habakkuk 1:2). There is even the Angel of the LORD who is quoted in Zechariah 1:12 saying, “O Lord of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these seventy years?”
Then, in the last book of the Bible, Revelation, there are the martyrs who “cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’” (Rev. 6:10). All of these waited for when God would fulfill His promises.
The other expectation that makes waiting difficult is the “what” - what we are expecting. While God tells us to pray specific prayers, God may not fulfill His promise in the way we expect. The Book of Hebrews speaks to this concerning the “heroes of the faith,” saying, “And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” (Heb. 11:39-40)
One of the best testimonies of this was written by an unknown author who said, “I asked God for strength that I might achieve, I was made weak that I might learn to humbly obey. I asked God for health that I might do greater things, I was given infirmity that I might do better things. I asked God for power that I might have the praise of men, I was given weakness that I might feel the need for God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life, I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing that I asked for, but everything that I hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am, among all, most richly blessed.”
Essential to waiting on the promises is our expectation, yet God will keep His promises when and in better ways than we may ever expect.
In Christ,
Bill Hyer
One is the “when” - when will God fulfill His promise. Waiting on God to fulfill His promises is one of the great realities of walking with God. Throughout the Bible we read of people waiting on God to fulfill His promises saying, “How long?” Among them are the writers of the Psalms. There is David who prays, “My soul is greatly dismayed. But, You, O Lord, how long?” (Ps. 6:3). There is Asaph who prays, “How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever?” (Psalm 74:10). And there is Ethan the Ezrahite who mourns the loss of God’s favor for His people saying, “How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?” (Psalm 89:46).
Then there are the prophets such as Isaiah who, when he is told of the seemingly lack of success of his prophetic ministry, questions, “How long, O Lord?” (Isa. 6:11). There is the prophet Habakkuk, who seeing the depths of sin of the people of God, pleads, “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save?” (Habakkuk 1:2). There is even the Angel of the LORD who is quoted in Zechariah 1:12 saying, “O Lord of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these seventy years?”
Then, in the last book of the Bible, Revelation, there are the martyrs who “cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’” (Rev. 6:10). All of these waited for when God would fulfill His promises.
The other expectation that makes waiting difficult is the “what” - what we are expecting. While God tells us to pray specific prayers, God may not fulfill His promise in the way we expect. The Book of Hebrews speaks to this concerning the “heroes of the faith,” saying, “And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” (Heb. 11:39-40)
One of the best testimonies of this was written by an unknown author who said, “I asked God for strength that I might achieve, I was made weak that I might learn to humbly obey. I asked God for health that I might do greater things, I was given infirmity that I might do better things. I asked God for power that I might have the praise of men, I was given weakness that I might feel the need for God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life, I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing that I asked for, but everything that I hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am, among all, most richly blessed.”
Essential to waiting on the promises is our expectation, yet God will keep His promises when and in better ways than we may ever expect.
In Christ,
Bill Hyer
Posted in 2022 Breakthrough Fast
No Comments