LESSON: The Faith Chapter

Patience Required

¹¹By 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. ¹²And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashores. Hebrews 11:11-12 NIV

BACKGROUND READING
Genesis 15:1-6

At seventy-five years old, Abraham obediently followed God's command to move to Canaan. Abraham took his wife, nephew Lot, servants and all his possessions on this move. Abraham and Sarah had no children. Medically it was impossible for them to have children because (1) Sarah was barren (2) they both were too old. In verse 11, Abraham knew that all things were possible with God despite the current obstacles. In Genesis 15:6 it states, "Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness." Late,r God confirms His great magnificence by asking the laughing Sarah a question, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?"

Of course nothing is too hard or impossible for the Lord. We can look around now and see the many descendants of Abraham today. His descendants indeed are "numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the land on the seashore." Those descendants include followers of Christ also.

The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. Galations 3:8- 9 NIV

He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.Galations 3:14 NIV

Abraham story brings to mind an area of faith that I often struggle with quite a lot. That is PATIENCE or longsuffering. I can imagine for Abraham, waiting until you are 100 years old to have children requires faith and patience combined. Especially since he lived during a time when having male offspring was so important.

I decided to check out what patience means. The definition of patience that I found says, "Being able to put up with problems or pain without complaining or becoming angry." My mother always reminds me to be careful of my actions and words. Complaining and worrying a situation to death will not cause God to move any faster. That is a tough one for me, but I have slowly learned that God's waiting period can be your period of growth and development.

I used to be quick-tempered and irritated easily over any little minor detail. As I have grown in Christ, I realized I made situations worse because of my impatience. Impatience is simply "NOT getting your way" or "NOT having complete control over a situation" and then acting in an irrational manner. Now when temptations arise, I think about the joy of the blessing after the waiting period is over and know that my circumstances have already been solved by God.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12 NIV

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