ESOCS Devotional 19 December 2023 – God Fulfills Promises
MEMORY VERSE: “And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.” Luke 14: 26
TEXT: GENESIS 21 1 – 21 (KJV)
And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.
5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.
6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.
8 And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.
10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son.
12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.
14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.
19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
Sometimes we grab hold of God’s promises and we hold fast to them – for a while. However, if the fulfillment of that promise is delayed, it is easy to begin to lose our grip. We wonder if the promise is invalid, if we had misunderstood it, if we have done something wrong or if God cannot really deliver.
Imagine what it must have been like for Abraham and Sarah. They are promised many descendants if they will just follow God’s lead. They responded faithfully and waited. They waited for dozens of years. They tried to help God.
What we look at today is God’s faithfulness. Today we see the fulfillment of the promise God made to Abraham and Sarah. From this I hope to show you some important lessons we should take from this text to help us in our own walk of faithfulness.
So, we have so many beautiful promises throughout scripture. And here, we see Abraham and Sarah living or experiencing the fulfillment of God’s promise. This is his power. This is the ability, the strength, the majesty of God. So, this is the first thing I want you to see, God’s power and God’s ability. It’s more powerful than us, more powerful than Abraham and Sarah, and what they could produce, and all their human energy. And more powerful than we could ever know. God just breathes it. He wills it. He desires it. And Abraham and Sarah miraculously have a child.
God makes promises to us. When we hear and interpret those promises faithfully this passage reminds us that God is true to His Word. We can be confident that if we trust in Christ we will be forgiven and live forever in Heaven, God will supply all our needs in His timing, we will never be alone (even when we may feel like it), that He will give us the strength we need, the wisdom we seek, and the words we lack for the difficult times of life and that He will never ever give up on us.
Is your grip on His promise weakening? If so, know that God can be trusted. You may waver but He will not. Draw strength from this account.
- Are you still trusting and holding onto Him for all His promises to you?
- Lord, grant me grace to hold onto your promises in my life till You bring them to pass, in Jesus name.
FURTHER READING: John 7:14–24; Genesis 46:1-7; Revelation 11:1–5
ESOCS Devotional 19 December 2023
