Genesis 12:1-9
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.
So God speaks to Abraham, telling him to, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you". As you read on in this passage we see that , as Abraham is traveling, he goes right through Canaan (the land that God will eventually give him). God appears to Abraham and says, “To your offspring I will give this land.” God lets Abraham know, this is the place, this is the land I am giving you and your descendants. But God does not give it to Abraham right then. God leads him to the land. God tells him this is the land. But God does not give the land to him ... he makes Abraham wait.
I find it interesting that with God, it is not only the "what" and "where" …. but also the "when" that is so important. It was not the right time for Abraham to receive the promise from God. So God allowed him to continue on. In the process, Abraham would do some things right, he would do some things wrong. He would make mistakes and ultimately, he would learn to trust God more.
I think the same holds true today for us. In fact I know it does.
In our life today, God does not only care about the "what" and the "where" …. he cares about the "when". Timing is everything! When its the right time God will reveal the plan and open the door. Until then there are lessons that need to be learned. There are mistakes need to be made and trust the needs to be developed.
Timing is everything!
Application Questions:
What promise has God made to you?
Where do you feel like God is moving you in your journey of faith?
What lessons do you need to learn while you wait?
What changes do you need to make?
Are you willing to trust God in the meantime?
Are you willing to stay faithful to him?
Are you giving your absolute best with what you currently have and where you currently are?