Forcing God’s Hand

In our message this morning we’re going to focus on how we need to have patience when following the Lord. Hebrews is a book of the Bible that frequently talks about following God in faith, and we read that those who are patient will be able to “inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:12). In Hebrews 10:36, in the King James Version, we read, “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.”

It is through patience that we’re able to both focus on God’s calling and pursue His calling, and thereby receive the promise. David said, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart . . . Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:4, 7). Resting in the Lord and delighting ourselves in Him through worship and devotion is what will enable us to wait patiently while God works in His way and His timing.

This morning we’re going to look at the account of someone who was given a promise by the Lord that he would receive a great blessing. We’re also going to see how this individual was so impatient that he, along with his wife, took matters into their own hands, and tried to get ahead of God. If waiting patiently on the Lord is vital to receiving His promise, then what do you suppose happened to the individual that we’ll be viewing in this account, as a result of his impatience? Let’s get started by looking at Genesis 15:1-6.

God’s Promise Given (15:1-6)

1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” 2 But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!” 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” 5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

I want to start by saying that when the Lord gives us a sure calling or vision to serve Him, then we must pursue that calling with all of our heart. The Lord gave Abram such a calling. He told him back in Genesis 12:1-3, “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” God promised Abram that He would make of him a great people, and that through him all nations would be blessed; therefore, Abram packed up and left everything behind in order to pursue that calling.

We see in Genesis chapter 15 that Abram eventually began to question the promise. He said to the Lord, “What will you give me, seeing I go childless . . . You have given me no offspring” (Genesis 15:2). Abram’s question was this: “How can I become a great nation if I can’t even have a child?” It would seem as though Abram had a good reason to be concerned, for when the Lord told him to leave his country and pursue God’s calling, he was actually seventy-five-years-old (Genesis 12:4).

Abram wasn’t young and nether was his wife Sarai, and he was probably wondering if they could ever have a child at such an old age, especially since Sarai had been barren her entire life (Genesis 11:30). There’s no telling how long Abram had been in waiting at the time he began to question the Lord. He was right at one hundred-years-old when his son Isaac was finally born (Genesis 17:17)!

So, here’s a hard truth to accept when following the Lord: God might give us a calling to pursue, and then that vision might not be fulfilled immediately. Christians often think that when God provides a vision that all a person has to do is take one tiny step of faith, and then enter into the fulfillment of that calling; however, the Lord’s timing is so much different than ours.