Columnist Minister Deborah E. Nyamekye

In likeness to Abraham of Old Testament times, you are a man or woman of faith who believes in a God you cannot see. In this new covenant era, you believe in God through Christ Jesus. You are not perfect by any means, but you have surrendered your life wholeheartedly to God at the altar of sacrifice; in the place of prayer and daily worship or devotion.

You live in obedience to Romans 12:1-2:

"1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (KJV).

Like Abraham, you have not just presented yourself to God wholeheartedly but everything you own and those you love, your "Isaacs" as it were.

In this place you have faith that God will fulfill all His promises to you and your family including your children's children. This faith that you have is the same faith that Abraham had in God and is only possible because of your acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.

"13Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that hangeth on a tree:14That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. " (Gal 3:13-14 KJV)

"29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Gal 3:29 KJV).

When we study the life of the patriarchs of Israel, Abraham Isaac and Jacob, there was a similar pattern in that testing and waiting on God for his promises took what is humanly perceived to be a long time.

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing" (Gen. 12:2 KJV).

Abraham and Sarah waited for years before they conceived the child of promise, Isaac. Abraham was 75 years old when God promised him that He would be the father of many nations, then fifteen years later, at the age of 90 God renewed his promise. When he was 100 years, they finally conceived Isaac. This is a total of 25 years for God's promise to be made manifest (Genesis 12, 15-17). Isaac was the son through whom the promise of the nation of Israel would be born and through Israel (the tribe of Judah, one of the 12 sons of Jacob who together are the nation of Israel) Jesus Christ the incarnate Christ who is God in human form, would be born as the Saviour of the world, to reconcile man to God (2 Corinthian 5:19/John 3:16).

Waiting for a long time to give birth to twins, one of whom would have God's covenant promise to Abraham, the blessings of the first born, was Isaac and his wife Rebecca's fate. It was only in the 20th year of their marriage that they conceived their twins. Jacob had to labour for seven years for Rachel's father before he could get married, not to the love of his life Rachel, but her sister as their father had deceived him. He obediently worked for her father for another seven years before he would allow Jacob to wed Rachel. Despite it taking 14 years before he married Rachel, his choice of a bride, it is just as well Jacob persevered, otherwise there would not have been 12 tribes! The "four square" prophetic number chosen by God to represent God's people. If you are a child of God, know that nothing you do with the conviction that God is the source is in vain.

Even waiting on God for children (Abraham and Isaac) and wives (Jacob) were in themselves tests because of the length of time it took. God was testing them as follows: Will they wait on God and not attempt to bring what God has promised to pass prematurely? In Abraham and Sarah's case, they were impatient and Sarah gave her maid Hagar to Abraham so as to conceive a child with him. Abraham agreed and Ishmael was conceived (Gen.16).

If we take matters into our own hands and scheme something that looks like what God promised us, God will not accept that thing as a replacement of His promise. This is because the product of our works birthed out of our impatience with God is a mere counterfeit of the real and will cause problems. They are a means for Satan to afflict, accuse or condemn us. When Hagar was pregnant with Ishmael, Sarah had no peace and she was jealous of Hagar and complained of her to Abraham and sent her away. Hagar returned only to be sent away again after Ishmael's birth.

Anything that is not birthed by God is contrary to God and His plans for us. Praise be to God that despite their disobedience, God brought to pass his promise of a son, Isaac to Abraham and Sarah. This promise was upheld because Abraham to whom God spoke this promise to first, as we ascertain from scripture believed God. God caused him to visualise his descendants as being as the sand on the seashore and stars in the sky (Gen 22:17). Sarah was the one who activated her doubt not only by laughter but when she was told but by offering Hagar to have a child with Abraham.

Brethren do not allow anyone to talk you out of what God has promised you by way of a prophetic promise or a vision or revelatory dream. If you believe what God is saying to you, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might and refuse to do anything that will bring you heartache in the process and interfere negatively with the outworking of the promises of God in your life.

We must refuse destruction or enticement by those who offer alternative schemes or plans however well meaning they may be as we wait on God for what He has for us. Even those who are close to us can be instruments of the enemy to attempt to abort our God given vision.

Brethren, an "Ishmael" may happen along the way, or we may gain a "Leah" due to being deceived or through our own character weaknesses, but as long as we remain steadfast and dependant on God however long it takes, we will attain the promises of God, not partially but completely for God "is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us" (Eph3:20 KJV).

God says of His word "it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11 KJV).

Let us always remember that “...the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” (Habakkuk 2:3 KJV).

© Feb.2017 Deborah E. Nyamekye