Hagar and Ishmael -- Genesis 16:1-16

It is difficult to wait. I get impatient when I must wait for people. I find that I will fuss in my head about doctors who make me wait, cable repair people who don’t arrive in the 4 hour window they provided. It is also hard to remain patient when anticipating something I have dreamed about for years. Attitudes of impatience can be as childlike as waiting for Christmas morning to arrive or as grown up as the feelings that accompany a sixty year old who is counting on retirement someday soon.

The Bible story today explores the promise God made to Sarai and Abram concerning children. God made a covenant with Abram, promising he would become the father of many nations. God did not provide Abram with a date; He did not tell him when he would father a child, only that he would. That was good enough for Abram…for awhile.

Abram got tired of waiting, the physical facts that he was getting very old caused him to doubt God’s promise, so when his wife said, “The Lord has kept me from having children,” Abram agreed. The impatience practiced by this couple changed the world and history.

The saying, "good things happen to those who wait," is often true.  When it comes to waiting for God, it is always true.  His timing is perfect.

Read the scripture text for today at Biblegateway and Genesis:16-1:16

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