The Lord was Gracious

The Lord was Gracious

 

God’s grace is reached through patience

and

Patience reveals our love!

  

The NIV says,

“Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah.”

I find these words a little remarkable.

I don’t think many of us would have said that.

I think many of us would have said,

 “God, what took you so long?”

Grace would have been at the age of child bearing.

I think if we were honest,

we would have a list of reasons why

this was not a gracious act.

This was a mixed bag,

but Sarah said,

“God has brought me laughter

and everyone who hears will laugh with me.”

Sarah did not let God’s timing

get in the way of her joy and gratefulness to her God.

The years of waiting for God’s promise

did not make her bitter.

My observation of human activity

tells me most of us do not like to wait.

Too many of us find our patience has a short fuse.

The word patience means,

the ability to endure without murmuring.

In the devotional book,

 “The Love Dare”

Stephen & Alex Kendrick state that

patience is one of the two pillars of love.

All other characteristic of love

are extensions of these two attributes.  

Love inspires us to be a person of patience.

When you choose to have patience,

you respond in a positive way to a negative situation;

You become slow to anger.

You choose to have a long fuse,

instead of a short temper.

Rather than being restless and demanding,

love helps you settle down.

Patience brings an internal calm.

Sarah’s love for God had the pillar of patience.

She received the promise with laughter.

How about you and I?

Does God see our patience?

What about those around us,

do they see our patience?

Can they be sure of our love?

Scripture Reading

Genesis 21:1-7 NIV

21:1 Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said,

and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised.

2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age,

at the very time God had promised him.

3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him.

4 When his son Isaac was eight days old,

Abraham circumcised him,

as God commanded him.

5 Abraham was a hundred years old

when his son Isaac was born to him.

6 Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter,

and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me."

7 And she added,

"Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children?

Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."

Hebrews 6:10-15 NIV

10 God is not unjust;

he will not forget your work

and the love you have shown him

as you have helped his people

and continue to help them.

11 We want each of you

to show this same diligence to the very end,

in order to make your hope sure.

12 We do not want you to become lazy,

but to imitate those who through faith

and patience inherit what has been promised.

13 When God made his promise to Abraham,

since there was no one greater for him to swear by,

he swore by himself, 14 saying,

"I will surely bless you and give you many descendants."  

15 And so after waiting patiently,

Abraham received what was promised.