Let’s start off right!
Father God, we just want to say thank you! Thank you for revelation, inspiration and dedication. We ask that you bless the eyes that come upon these words, give them a heart to receive, a mind to understand and the intentions to do something about it. It’s in your name… Amen.
If you DO NOT fight for it…You DID NOT want it bad enough!
Let me first start off that “if you do not fight for it…” is in a biblical context. 1 John 5:14-15 says, now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us. Keyword “his will”. How do you know it is “his will”? If you can’t find scripture to back it up, then I’d move on.
Often we get tired and restless when things don’t happen in “our time”. Scripture says in 2 Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. Moral of this story is that there is a chance that the promise you received yesterday won’t happen tomorrow.
The question is will you be Jacob and fight for it or will you be Essau and give it away? What do I mean by that? Read on….(I love playing devil’s advocate)
For those that don’t know, there is a story in the bible about a set of twins (Essau and Jacob). Essau came out first making him the oldest and Jacob being the youngest. If you start reading around Genesis 25 you can read the story about the birthright and how you have a choice to be like Essau who gave his birthright away or like Jacob who fought for it (illegally but he did). Their father was Issac and mother was Rebekah.
This would be a good place to say, the same trickery Jacob used to cheat his brother of his birthright, was used on him when he wanted a wife but I digress. (You want to know more about that story keep reading after Genesis 25…it’s a complete soap opera)
Anyway, back to the original story because I got ahead of myself. So, Rebekah seemed to be barren for the first 20 years of their marriage. Issac prayed for his wife Rebekah to get pregnant. The Lord answered his prayer 20 years later. Rebekah gets pregnant and those twins fought in the womb so much. Rebekah said “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” (There goes doubt creeping in)
FAST FORWARD to the lesson….To Experience God’s Promises, We Must Be Willing to Wait!
Let me summarize, prior to the pregnancy, Rebekah was barren for 20 years. Do the math. When she left home to marry Issac her parents prayed she would be the mother of nations. So I’m sure they kept thinking this can’t happen if we don’t start poppin out some babies. On top of that culture called for women to have babies because how else would the name be carried.
But, waiting seasons are common when God is preparing somebody to experience his call and promises. Whether it be the promise of a spouse, children, a ministry, or some great work. Now that we have some facts let’s get down to the meat of it all.
Why does God make his people wait before they experience many of his promises?
1. In the waiting season, God teaches us how weak we are.
Often young people who are waiting for God to bring them a mate, get tired and therefore go find “Mr. or Miss. Right Now” instead of “Mr. or Miss. Right.” In that season, they bring themselves heartache and pain. Sometimes, they create life-time consequences. In the waiting season, God humbles his people to show them how weak they are. In the flesh, we cannot bring about his promises.
2. In the waiting season, God teaches us to trust and depend on him more.
As we are weaned off our flesh, we learn to trust God more. God’s power is made perfect in those who recognize their weakness and rely totally on him. Our weakness and dependency are fertile ground for God’s power. So much so, God often allows storms or trials to create the fertile ground in us, so he can use us more. When Paul understood this about his “thorn in the flesh,” he began to boast in his weaknesses, for when he was weak, then he was strong (2 Cor 12:9-10). He had learned to trust and depend on God more.
3. In the waiting season, God teaches us contentment.
Often what happens when God gives us a specific promise by placing desires in our hearts and confirming them through circumstances and others, the promise can become our focus and even our idol, as we think on it and pursue it more than God himself. Therefore, in the waiting season, we learn to be content with God alone—whether we ever experience the promise or not. In the waiting season, God cleanses us from idolatry and teaches us to be content with the Giver, even if we never experience the gift. The waiting season can be a blessed time, if we are faithful in it. When it seems like God isn’t working, he is working in us and those around us to eventually fulfill his promise. Are you willing to wait?
To Experience God’s Promises, We Must Persevere in Prayer
Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. Genesis 25:21 We don’t know how long Isaac and Rebekah tried to have children; it could have been five years, ten years, or for the whole twenty. Either way, Isaac is to be commended for his response of praying.
To Experience God’s Promises, We Must Expect Difficulties and Seek God’s Wisdom During Them
But the children struggled inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” So she asked the Lord, and the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will be separated from within you. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” Genesis 25:22-23
Often the mistake of God’s people when pursuing God’s promises is that they believe the answers or blessings will come without problems. That seems to be the situation with Rebekah. After she gets pregnant, she finds that her pregnancy is difficult. Verse 22 says, “the children struggled inside her.” The Hebrew word for “struggled” means “to crush or oppress.”2 It was clear to Rebekah that something was wrong. She declared, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not sure I want to be pregnant!” The promise didn’t come in the way she expected. As with Rebekah’s situation, God’s promises often come with pain—leading to disillusionment.
I could go on and on but I’ll stop here and ask you “how bad do you want it?”.
In His Name,
Lady G
