A Pause Between Verses

Sometimes years may pass...

Note: In this post, I’m talking about the life of Abraham. I do realize that Abraham’s name was “Abram” until Genesis 17, but for the purpose of clarity, I’ve decided to use the name “Abraham” throughout.

---

Our ladies’ bible study group is currently studying the life of Abraham. The stories, of course, are overly familiar: Abraham tries to pass his wife off as his sister (twice!), the unfortunate child born from the unfortunate union with his wife’s maid, and let’s not forget the attempted murder of his own son. These stories live vividly in my imagination, but what I’ve noticed this time around is the sheer number of conversations exchanged between God and Abraham…and the incredible periods of time and silence in between.

Example 1: The Call

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.”

-Genesis 12:1-3

You got this, my man. Just get out of here. Go. No mention of timeframe, calendar dates, or clocks. Simple (astounding) promises of extreme blessing.

And then, silence.

Abraham goes on this world tour, building altars along the way. At some point on his journeys, God shows up to deliver a quick one-liner:

Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.”

-Genesis 12:7

Again, a little vague on the details. No when, where, or how to be found.

All this land stuff is great, but as the years pass, it’s clear that Abraham has had enough. By Genesis 15, Abraham calls a meeting with God. A little Determine The Relationship (DTR) moment, if you will:

Example 2: The Promised Son

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

-Genesis 15:1-2

What good is all this land if he doesn’t have kids? What good is anything without family? You can hear in Abraham’s tone his frustration with God’s lack of clarity on the issue. But what’s really interesting to me is the transition between verse 2 and 3 in this passage.

After Abraham confronts God with the whole kid-less problem/heir problem, there’s silence.

God doesn’t respond.

How long the silence lasts, I don’t know. But eventually, we get verse 3:

And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”

He has to say it again. “Hello, God? Did you hear me the first time?”

This little gap…this insignificant space between verses…ministers so deeply to my heart. How many times have you brought your heartache before God? How many times have you held out your hands in hope and wonder, only to experience silence. Does God hear? Will He answer?

In this case, God does answer:

And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

-Genesis 15:4-6

Such a tender moment. God responds powerfully to Abraham…but still, no timetable. No play-by-play.

Example 3: When the waiting finally ends

Abraham believed the Lord but struggled mightily for another decade.

God made him wait.

And in the waiting, Abraham did what we all do: He floundered. He sought to control his own destiny. He did what was right in His own eyes. He made a mess of His family. I get it. I can’t wait 12 minutes in the Sonic line, much less 10 years for God to show up.

And yet, God continued to hold true to His promise.

Ten years from the night Abraham looked at the stars, a little boy was born from his barren wife.

Working in the Waiting

I have a dear friend who has struggled for nearly 50 years with a horrible disease. On her good days, we meet and pray together. She tells the most hilarious stories of her many doctor and hospital visits. No one seems to ever know what to do with her or how to treat her. It’s been a painful journey. Sometimes we just sit and cry together.

This last week, she came with big news: After 46 years, she finally received an official diagnosis. She has a rare disease, indeed, affecting only 1 in 30,000 million people. But just last year, a medicine to treat it was finally approved by the FDA.

She is one of the few people in the country to qualify for it.

I asked her to tell me about waiting. She said:

I know something about praying and waiting. I know something about wrestling and clinging. I’ve had doctors ask me how I am still alive. This week, I have something of an answer to that that would have been hard for me to believe years ago. But I believe God has been working these 46 years through the advancement of medicine and science. I believe He’s been preparing me for this time, preserving me, that I might be alive to take this medicine so that others might benefit from the research that comes from it. I think all of this isn’t about me at all, but about Him. Yes, waiting has been hard. But I wouldn’t have told the story in any other way.

I wonder if Abraham felt the same way when he held Isaac in his arms?

Let the silence work on you

I know there is silent space in between your prayers. God uses that space to bring to the surface all manner of sin, selfishness, self-pity, and doubt. Yet, His grace abounds. He’s faithful. Through years. Through generations. This waiting isn’t ultimately about you getting what you want…it’s about God working out His glory in you and through you.

Open your hands yet again in hope to the father of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.