“So Sarai said to Abram, “See here, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. I am asking you to go in to [the bed of] my maid [so that she may bear you a child]; perhaps I will obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to Sarai and did as she said.” – Genesis 16:2 (AMP)

Abram was spoken to by God to leave his father’s land and his kindred and go to a place that He will show him. Abram obeyed but all the while, as old he and his wife were, they were childless. Imagine Sarah hearing the cries of babies from the tents of their maidservants as they nurtured their babies because Abram had a large harem of servants who were at his beck and call. Such joyful cries were secret tears of despair for their master and his wife.

God gave them His Word that they too would have a child of their own, but naturally, it wasn’t looking like it was going to happen anymore. Miracles are mostly unexplainable with natural logic and that’s God’s plan for these people. Abram and Sarai waited so much on God to fulfill His Word but it felt like God was too slow. Then, an idea popped up in Sarai’s mind, one that appealed to and matched the culture of the day.

‘My lord, with face lit up excitedly, Sarai called out to her husband as he reclined in his arm resting chair under the cool evening.

‘I’ve got an idea and oh my, it’s a superb one that you will like.’

‘Let’s hear it’, he replied. ‘Do you remember that our culture permits that my slave is able to give birth to a son in my name and the child will be mine if you go in to her?’ ‘Yeah, I remember but I wouldn’t want us to do that because God had said it will be your womb that will carry the child and not another woman.’ ‘I know but doing this is nothing bad at all. The result is for the child to be called as mine, no one cares whose womb carried him.’

‘Hm. I really don’t want to do this but if you insist, let us try it out’, Abram finally responded defeatedly after some moments of thought and hesitation.

And they did, the child came but it was not the miracle God promised them. God would have wanted them to wait and receive this miracle no matter how late it may seem.

As you read the Bible, you’d see that Abram and Sarai didn’t have a book to read of men and women who waited as long as them to receive the miracle God promised them but here you are, you have read it and known what it means to wait upon the Lord through their experience. You should make a different decision and not try to help God’s Word come to pass at your time and not God’s time. You must know that God can never be late. And He cares about you more than you can imagine.

Dear believer, not having another alternative when God has promised is something you need to see to. There are many people who lost their miracles because they settled for alternatives that God didn’t give them. Always wait for the original that God has promised. It is very rewarding and soothing, knowing that you waited on God to receive His actual miracle for you. If you truly believe in miracles, you must also more importantly believe in the God who gives the miracles.

Reflections: What are the alternatives that I have settled for in place of God’s promise to me? And what are the miracles I am still waiting on God for their manifestation?

Confession: I receive the strength and grace to wait on God and allow Him fulfill His Word in my life in His own time. For me, miracles are real and they are manifested in my life daily.

Related Scripture: Genesis 16

Bible Reading: Genesis 47