Promises & Prophecy: God's Process and Timing

Waiting for the fulfillment of a promise or prophecy is difficult - but prompting its fulfillment through our fleshly actions is dangerous.

We can learn how to handle the promises of God by understanding Sarah's mistake: she anticipated how God might fulfill the promise of a son then pushed doors open to make it happen. This type of activity generally doesn’t have good results - perhaps because God is not only interested in the end result, but He’s interested in the journey itself. Preparation to handle the end promise often comes on the road to the fulfillment of that promise.

God promised a son to Abraham and Sarah, but instead of letting the promise unfold in God’s manner and timing, Sarah manipulated both her handmaiden and her husband to get what she wanted. Her desire for a child (especially to take away her shame of being barren) dominated her desire for God and she tried to step into God’s shoes in bringing the promise to pass.

The result of Sarah’s push to bring about God’s promise was that she found herself living in the same house as the woman with whom her husband had slept (Hagar) and the woman resented Sarah. Today's blended family dynamics are often difficult, but living in the same house as the mother of your step-children might make for a hellish atmosphere. In the end, Sarah’s plan to obtain a child through her foreign handmaiden backfired and brought out the worst in her, her husband, Hagar and Ishmael (Abraham and Hagar’s son). It also made life a bit miserable for Isaac, Abraham and Sarah’s son, who was later born in God’s manner and timing.

God later called Isaac the son who was “born of the spirit,” and Ishmael the son who was “born of the flesh” (Gal 4:29). Isaac represents freedom in God and Ishmael represents the bondage of fleshly living: manipulating people and circumstances to satisfy the flesh and its timing. True freedom comes by completely trusting God to fulfill His words of promise and prophecy, then submitting to His will.

There is no way to 'manipulate' God (especially by manipulating others) and get God’s desired outcome. If God has given you a promise, wait on His timing instead of prompting others and pushing doors open to help fulfill it in your own manner and timing. If we give the promise back to God and cooperate with Him, He will fulfill it through the Spirit and sanctify our hearts and minds in the process.

“ Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord [fully submitted to Your Spirit]; let it be done to me according to what you have said [your way of doing things and your timing].” Luke 1:38