These verses are a great encouragement to those of us who have ever had to endure long periods of waiting before we saw the fulfillment of God's promises to us. The emphasis here is upon the fact that Abraham's situation was completely hopeless. Yet, he believed God's promise to give him a son in his old age. It was many years before God fulfilled this promise to Abraham, and he made some mistakes during those years. Still, these verses don't mention Abraham's doubts, but focus instead on his faith. That fact should encourage us, too. Though we may struggle with our own doubts from time to time, if we hold on to God's promises, we will receive our reward just as Abraham did.

If you are not feeling very hopeful today that God's promises to you will ever come to pass, I urge you to hold on to your faith. Look at these verses in Hebrews 10:35-36 NLT: "Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, no matter what happens. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that He has promised." If you throw your faith away before God fulfills His promises to you, you will never receive the reward He has waiting for you. Ask the Lord to give you the patience and endurance you need to stand strong, then do your part by hanging in there when the going gets tough. Hebrews 6:12 TLB says, "Be anxious to follow the example of those who receive all that God has promised them because of their strong faith and patience." Follow Abraham's example and receive all that the Lord has promised you. Not only will you be blessed, but God will be glorified through you, and then you can be an example to someone else whose faith is faltering. The Living Bible says that Abraham "praised God for this blessing even before it happened". If you'll begin thanking God right now for the fulfillment of those promises that look like they'll never come to pass, your faith will grow in leaps and bounds and you will delight the heart of God. Take heart from this precious verse in 2 Timothy 2:13 TLB: "Even when we are too weak to have any faith left, he remains faithful to us and will help us, for he cannot disown us who are part of himself, and he will always carry out his promises to us"!

Prayer: Lord, whenever I'm tempted to doubt your promises, increase my faith and give me the patience I need to stand strong. Help me to take my eyes off my circumstances and rest them on your promises. Thank You for enabling me to receive all that You have promised!