Meet Destinee Valadez

What is the longest you’ve ever waited? Somehow I made it through long periods of waiting for food, people, or experiences, but so often I get impatient when waiting on the One whom I claim to trust the most. Instead, I default to trusting my own understanding, unlike Abraham who “did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead” (verse 19).

As an unmarried young adult who loves children and looks forward to having my own children someday (if the Lord wills it), I can only imagine the joy that Abraham must have felt when the Lord, the Creator of the universe, promised him that he would have a lot of descendants (Genesis 12:1-3, 17:4-8). Abraham was 75 years old when God first made the promise that Abraham would be made into “a great nation.” Genesis 21:5 tells us that Abraham was 100 years old when Sarah gave birth to Isaac, which means Abraham had to wait 25 years! Currently, I am 24 years old, so for me, that’s more than my entire life . . . that seems like a really long time.

Abraham waited for God and trusted Him to fulfill the promise He had made—he was a living example of Proverbs 3:5-6. Abraham could have looked at his situation and trusted in his human understanding. However, he did not weaken in his faith and did not waver in unbelief concerning God’s promise. Instead, “he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised” (verses 20b-21).

In our waiting, we can choose to doubt God’s goodness and faithfulness, or we can choose to remind ourselves of God’s promises and His character. God is a promise-keeper, and sometimes (quite often) His timing is not our own. So what can we do while waiting? We can follow the example Abraham set and choose to give glory to God and trust that He will do as He promises. As we do that, may God strengthen our faith as He did Abraham’s.