Enduring Promise

"For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised." Hebrews 10: 36 (NASB)

I know I shared in a blog a few weeks ago that I had not heard very much about the promises of God until recent years. Now, the topic is blowing up Christian author's books, pages, blogs, and posts. Pastors that I have listened to for years are doing sermons about God's promises to us. My mother wrote something interesting lately on her blog--that there are between 300 and 30,000 promises from God in the Bible. Wow!

But one thing to think about, when we are contemplating the beautiful, comforting, and encouraging promises of God is...what do we do to receive these promises? I think this verse puts it fairly clearly.

We endure. We do the will of God. And we trust that someday, we will receive what God has promised.

But why is it that it seems like the culmination  and consummation of our hopes is so far away? Or maybe it seems that God puts us through a whole lot of fire first?

I can't really answer that. Except that it is the way God has worked since the beginning. Abraham and Sarah had to wait until they were a century old to receive the promised child. Isaac was 40 and Rebekah is thought to be around 23 (ancient for a woman back then to get married) when they tied the knot. Hannah prayed for years for her son, Samuel, to be born even while her husband had a hard time understanding why he wasn't enough for her. Joseph waited 13 years, through prison and trying circumstances, before he was made second to Pharaoh in Egypt. The Israelites waited 40 years to enter the promised land. The Jews waited for thousands of years for the Messiah. Jesus waited 30 years before His ministry began. And we continue to wait, 2,000 years later with anxious expectation, for His second coming.

There may be a lot of reasons that God works this way. Part of it may be timing. If Abraham and Sarah had given birth to Isaac 60-70 years before they did, he'd have been really old when Rebekah was 23. Samuel was born at a time when Eli needed someone to train up to take over after him because Eli's sons were so evil, and when Samuel was in his old age, he was the one that God chose to anoint David as king. Thinking of that kind of gives me chills.

So, trusting in God's timing seems like it would be a good thing.

Also, I believe that there are developments in our lives, both in the outward and in the spiritual, that build up like premises to a certain conclusion. God is doing things in our lives and in our spirits to prepare us for the promised outcome. Sometimes, when we think we are ready, we really are not. And sometimes when we think we are not ready, God is ready to push us out of our comfort zone into His ultimate will for our lives. If Joseph had not been sold into slavery by his brothers, he would not have worked in Potiphar's house. If he had not worked in Potiphar's house, he would not have been approached by his wife. If Potiphar's wife had not approached him, he would never have gone to jail. If he had never had gone to jail, he would not have interpreted the baker and the butler's dreams. If he had not interpreted those dreams, he would not have been remembered two years later (TWO years later) to interpret the Pharaoh's dreams. If he hadn't interpreted the Pharaoh's dreams, he would never have become second to Pharaoh in the land of Egypt. If he had never become second in the land of Egypt, he would not been able to save his family from starvation during the famine. 

And yet, I'm sure when Joseph was going through all that, he may not have understood why or what God was doing. But he trusted God. And followed Him through everything. And God led him to where and who he was supposed to be.

I can't really answer all the questions of life, but I do know this: God has a purpose for you on this Earth. If you are alive, He has a reason for you being here. So look up. Ask Him what He would have you do. It may take some time, but if you follow the steps He lays out, you will eventually reach your destination. We may not all end up advisors to Kings, but we will be living the very life that God has given us to live. And why would we want anything else but that?

Enduring the race, we look to the end. And there at the finish line, Jesus stands waiting with open arms. Because He is our ultimate promise. He is our ultimate prize. I don't know about you, but I'm going to do my utmost to keep trying to get to Him. Even if I don't understand everything along the path to Him. Because it's my path--the one He laid out for me. I don't have to look to anyone else's path. Only mine. And if I endure my own race to the finish line, what an unbelievable glorious uncomprehensible fulfillment of His Promise at the end!