My faith friend Kayvia and I just finished reading this bible study / devotional called “Eat Pray Hustle” by Havilliah Cunnington. It’s about dream chasing God’s way, and it’s centered around the life and story of Abraham. It’s really good, and I’d definitely recommend checking it out.
It’s walks you through the different stages of having a dream, and the section that hit me the hardest was called “Dream Death.”
I don’t know if it’s just me, but initially having the audacity to dream comes naturally to me. For me the hardest part of having a dream, is when it becomes deferred (due to circumstances beyond my control), when it’s delayed and my circumstances look nothing like what I thought would be required for this dream to come to life.
What do you do when the dream is deferred? How do you hold on when the vision tarries? What do you hold on to, when God made you a promise…but it seems to be taking forever for it to come to pass. These are the questions that I asked myself, and if I can be honest…I asked God too.
He gently reminded me, to hold onto Him tighter than the promise. Hold onto the promise keeper. He’s the one thats necessary for the promise to come to pass, it’s not the other way around. Don’t hold on to the promise, more than the one who gave and made it to you.
That can easily become a stumbling block, because at first we start off great and excited…because woo God made us a promise! He’s good! He’s gonna do it. We wanna share the revelation with everybody. Then it doesn’t happen when we thought it should (but, He’s still good). Sometimes we get discouraged.
We question it.
Ourselves (did we hear Him right? Did He even say that? If He did, we shoulda had it by now…).
Sometimes, we even question God. Our focus shifts from the Promise Keeper to the promise. Thats the problem.
Genesis 15:1-6 in the ESV says:
“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”
It took 25 years for the promise to be fulfilled, of Abraham and Sarah having a child. During that time, they tried to “help God out” by Abraham having a child with Sarah’s maid Hagar…but that wasn’t the promised son. Sometimes we too try to “help God out” and wind up creating counterfeits. We think we’re running out of time (a lie from the enemy), and wind up creating a big mess that takes longer to clean up.
Long story short, Abraham truly learned to hold onto God more than the promise. Thats why Abraham was able to be obedient in even considering sacrificing Issac. He finally got what he’d been waiting all of his life for, and still didn’t let it stand in the way of being obedient to God.
“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.”
Hebrews 11:17-19 ESV
Not only did God promise to bless Abrahams descendents, and give him a son…42 generations later Jesus arrived on the scene. Had he only known, that probably would have blown his mind.
So today, what are you holding on to more? The promise or the Promise Keeper?
I write and do these devotionals every other week during WBRU’s Sunday Morning Gospel show. Be sure to tune in and check ’em out!
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