What’s Your Name? by Haley Wells

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

What’s Your Name?

 

Good Morning Friends! I am so glad you could join me this morning!

 

I was pondering the promises of the Lord and His timing this morning. Abram and Sarai were promised by the Lord that they would bring forth a mighty nation. Abram was 75 when this promise went forth (Genesis 12:4).

 

In Genesis 12:1-3 God tells Abram:

“Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. ² I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. ³ 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.”

I think so many times we get so caught up in the promise for forget that there is a precursor. Abram was told to go. Get out of your country, away from your family, and leave the comfort zone. That could not have been easy. Many times God asks us to do something that will stretch our faith to see if we trust Him enough to do it.

There are other times where God asks us to stretch our faith by being patient, waiting, and holding on to the promise. Will we do it? In order for Abram to become the father of a great nation, he had to have offspring for that to happen. He and Sarai were up in years and eventually lost faith in God’s promise and decided to help God. Their lack of faith and patience in this area produced Ishmael. This was not God’s fulfillment of His end of the promise.

God had a plan that far exceeded what Abram and Sarai could possibly imagine. Their impatience produced Ishmael which brought about strife and contention and host of other things that was not in God’s plan. BUT GOD, is faithful to bring His promise to fruition even when we are not always faithful. He is a God of second chances!!

In Chapter 17, God comes to Abram when he is 99 years of age, changes his name to Abraham and tells him if he will walk blamelessly before the Lord that he will become the father of many nations. The name Abraham literally means “The Father of Many Nations”. So now, every time Abraham hears his name, he is reminded of the promise God made to him. Later, Sarai’s name was changed to Sarah, which means “Mother of Nations”. When God gives you a name don’t you dare name yourself anything less!

God made it clear in in Genesis 17 that Ishmael was not the son God would fulfill His covenant with Abraham through. Isaac, the promised son born of Sarah’s womb, was born when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90. Now had God had brought all this to fruition in the early years of their life, it would not have been near the miracle!

If you are still waiting for a promise to come to fruition, don’t lose heart!  God never goes back on His promises, even when we try to help Him out because it’s not happening fast enough for us.  Hold steady to His promise!

 

I ask you, is anything too hard for the Lord??

 

May God Bless You and Keep You!

 

Haley