“We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” (Hebrews Chapter 6, verse 12)
Scripture shows us that to inherit God’s promises, we must possess a blend of faith and patience. I have heard a lot of messages about faith but so few about patience. Look at Sunday School manuals and you would be lucky to find a few teachings about patience.
The “name it, claim it!” gospel has created a false narrative—that God’s promises are always quick to manifest. “Give $100 for a bountiful harvest, give $1000 to break the backbone of poverty!”
As sweet as these sounds, they have no basis in biblical doctrine; nowhere in scripture are believers told to give out of the lust for more, we are to give out of love for God and our brethren—God does not operate a Ponzi scheme, he rewards the faithful, he rewards the one who stewards rightly, the gift he has been given.
In the wilderness
Abraham was 75 years old when God gave him the promise of a son; he waited for 25 years for this promise to be fulfilled. The children of Israel tarried in the wilderness for 40 years before they entered the land of promise. God will often take you through the wilderness before the fulfillment of his word concerning your life.
The wilderness is not to destroy us but to take out the old nature and form the nature of Christ in us. Your yieldingness to the word of God and the workings of the Holy Spirit will determine whether you would eventually journey out of the wilderness or die in it.
"And being not weak in faith, he (Abraham) considered not his own body now dead when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb. He staggered not at the promises of God; through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.” (Romans chapter 4, verses19-21)
Even in the season of waiting, Abraham kept giving glory to God because he knew that God was faithful to fulfill the word he had spoken. 25 years was a lot of years, but God is not just preparing us for our destiny on earth but our position in eternity—who you have become on earth will determine your place in eternity. Many centuries after Abraham died, we still talk about him—waiting for 25 years was worth it.
Time and eternity
Because we are beings who live in the realm of time, we often think God is slow to fulfilling his promises, but we must understand that we are first eternal beings, and we are destined for eternity. What God is preparing us for is not limited to the earth, but it will span for all eternity.
God is more interested in the process he is taking us through than in the destination because it is in the process that Christ is formed in us and he is willing to wait no matter how long it takes until we have passed through the process required to bring us into maturity; there is a certain level of maturity for every great promise he has given to us.
How to wait
How do we wait even when everything around us seems to be in opposition to what God has spoken?
1. Keep your eyes on Jesus: Never lose sight of our precious savior; no matter the obstacles you face, trust in the Lord. He has seen the end from the beginning, and he will surely guide you till the end.
2. See the promise fulfilled: Every promise the Lord has given to you has already been accomplished in eternity. So don’t only see yourself in your current state, see the promise fulfilled because in eternity, “it is finished.”
3. Give thanks: The best attitude to have while waiting is an attitude of thanksgiving. We are to give thanks to God in all things knowing full well that he who made us in his image is still in control even in the valley of the shadow of death.
Rume Kpadamrophe is a graduate student at the University of South Carolina. Before leaving Nigeria, he mentored several youths in prophetic, intercession, and evangelism. He is a revivalist, a writer, a researcher, and an enthusiastic lover of revival history. He desires to see revival ignited and sustained in the nations of the earth. He currently serves as the president of The Carolina Church, a campus ministry at the University of South Carolina.Rume’s email is rumekpadamrophe@yahoo.com.