I see myself in Abraham. Not the mighty faith man. I relate to the guy who stands before God and says ‘Hey God, your promises are great and all…but what about my son?”
Genesis 15:1-3 tells us:
“Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.” But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”
How often do we remind God about the things He hasn’t done yet; the prayers He hasn’t answered yet? (Or is that just me?) How often do we tell God what He’s missing or has seemingly forgotten? It’s as if God fell asleep on the job listening to our prayers and needs us to fill Him in so He doesn’t fall behind. Abraham was blessed at every turn, in every way but… as he stands before God, Abraham’s just a guy who wants a kid and can’t make it happen despite his best efforts.
It’s always speaks to me that the one thing Abraham didn’t have was the one thing that framed his response to God’s promises. Abraham reminds God of the thing he doesn’t have, the thing that makes everything else impossible, the one part of God’s promise that God must have forgotten or overlooked. Didn’t Abraham just live out the victories of Genesis Chapters 12, 13 and 14?
What about my son? Abraham’s question leaps off the page, reminding us that despite God’s extreme goodness, we are all still asking similar questions in different areas of life.
We all share the common sadness of unmet desire.
This passage reminds us of a few home truths about our desires, expressed through prayers to our Heavenly Father:
1. God knows each and every unmet desire we have.
He’s God, after all. He knows all stuff that is to be known which includes our met and unmet desires.
2. God is unsurprised but deeply moved by our desires.
Chances are that if your desire is righteous and remains unanswered, God probably put it in your heart to begin with. God is using the time delay between ‘asked’ and ‘answered’ to teach us about Himself. God wants us to be able to fully enjoy our answer when the time is right.
3. God knows that you can’t make everything happen on your own.
He’s God, I’m not. Why is this so hard to remember? The position of ‘Lord of the Universe’ has been filled. I am unqualified and unfit for this role. God is ok with my limitations and delights to help me.
4. God knows the right time for the miracle
Yes, but I want it NOW.
No, his timing is perfect.
5. God has a plan for our miracle.
Yes, but I have plans, planning makes sense, planning is good.
Yes, but His plans are much higher than mine and His ways are greater.
My plans defer to His timeline.
6. God wants us to be focused on His faithfulness not our lack.
Yes, but Scripture says I can ‘ask and keep on asking’, right?
Yes, but a thankful and humble heart paves a better pathway for our desires.
God wants us to choose to believe in His promises and to position our faith in those promises.
6 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.
Unmet desire is a painful reminder of our frail limitations.
Unmet desire is a hopeful reminder of God’s ability to fulfil His promises.
My beautiful friend, take your unmet desires, frame them with a thankful heart and place them with faith-filled expectation at the feet of your loving Father.