Every day we face many unknowns.  We try to minimize the obstacles and pitfalls in our life, but in the end we don’t have full, if any, control.  Our faith should not be dependent upon how we see our situation, rather trusting in the one who is in control.  That is why Jesus tells us to have courage, not be afraid, and to come to Him. 

Knowing Takes Patience

Even if we have clearly heard and know the plan God has for our lives, sometimes our own lack of patience gets in the way.  This was the case with Abram and Sarai.

“You will have a son of your own who will inherit what you have.”  Abram believed the Lord.  And the Lord accepted Abram’s faith, and that faith made him right with God (Genesis 15:4, 6).

As Sarai neared 90 years old, and Abram 100, she told Abram the Lord has not allowed her to have children so go ahead and have sexual relations with her slave girl, Hagar.  Abram agreed and Hagar got pregnant with Ishmael.

Abram’s faith made him right with God, yet he chose to listen to his wife over waiting on Him, and they walked outside of God’s plan.  Even so, God did not abandon His people nor go back on His Word.
 
Sarah your wife will have a son, and you will name him Isaac…As for Ishmael, I have heard you.  I will bless him and give him many descendants (Genesis 17:19-20).

We live a world where patience is no longer a virtue.  We rarely have a desire to wait for anything and usually want everything immediately.  Yet oftentimes, what God has for us, which is His very best, requires waiting for.

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord (Psalm 27:14).

Who Could Have Envisioned?

Some of us discern what God has for us and many believe we know.  However, most of us can’t foresee how He will accomplish it, appreciate the amount of time He will take, nor understand His methods or rationale.

• A man survived a near-death experience as a child and became inseparable from his parents.  Even after his mother’s death, he remained at home caring for his elderly father.  His father eventually sought a woman suitable for his son, who he later married at the age of forty.
  
• A single woman lived her entire life with faith in God and a love for her family.  She gave into sexual promiscuity, yet her heart remained open to God.  When faced with a decision, she chose what was right even in the midst of great personal risk.  She ultimately met a man and had children. 
  
• A young girl grew up and married a foreigner of a different faith. When she lost her husband, the girl decided to go to her mother-in-law’s home country to support her, sacrificing her own personal desires.  There she met an honorable man, remarried and had a child.
  
• A young boy inherited everything from his father yet never followed in his father footsteps.  He chose wicked ways and encouraged others to do the same.  The boy lost everything he had and was imprisoned.  While behind bars, he rediscovered God, discarded his wickedness and led others to Him. 

Maybe you can relate to one of these stories.  Each was faced with feelings of doubt, despair and the unknown.  Every one sacrificed something along their journey of faith while trusting in God, yet all of them (in His time) received desires of their heart.