Strength For The Long Journey Beyond The Pandemic

"Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram......And when

Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me and be thou perfect.”

Introduction: The interaction between God and Abram and later Abraham are well documented in Scripture. From his initial call to his name being change to Abraham, was nearly twenty-five years. God called Abram when he was 75 years old. Genesis 16:16 and Genesis 17:1 are some very interesting Scriptures. Most of us understand that the Bible has not always been divided into Chapters and Verses. We should be thankful for the divisions of the Scriptures because the divisions greatly assist us in our Bible study. Although there are times the Scripture break is an interruption of a thought. Such is the case, I believe, in our text today. Why does God make a point of telling us how old Abram was when Ishmael was born? Then in the next verse, tell us how old Abraham was when God spoke to him again.

I want to consider several things from the life of Abraham: (1) Abram began his journey with God at age 75 and God dealt with him until he died at age 175. In 100 years of communication with God, The Scriptures reveal that God spoke to Abraham only 7 or 8 times. Even though many people are constantly talking about how God is speaking to them every day, most of us do not hear from God that frequently. God spoke to Abram and called him out of his father's house, away from his kindred to seek a city whose builder and maker was God, only speaking to him 7 times. Think about the book of Acts, it sounds like miracles are happening every day, but it took nearly 30 years for those actions to take place. Throughout much of my personal journey with God, God sometimes has been a silent partner.

Genesis 12:1 God speaks to Abram at his Initial Call (At the time of his Commissioning) Genesis 12:7 God speaks to Abram when he built his first altar in Sichem (at the time of his sanctification) Genesis 13:14 God speaks to Abram after Lot leaves him (at the time of his crisis) Genesis 15:18 God speaks to Abraham when He makes a covenant with him. (at a time of reaffirmation) Genesis 17:1God speaks to Abraham after Ishmael was born (at time of redirection) Genesis 18:13 God speaks to Abraham when Sarah laughs at the promise of a child (at a time of visitation) Genesis 22:11God speaks to Abraham as he offered up his only son Isaac. (at a time of great sacrifice) On the long journey of life, we must know how to deal with discouragement. This present day pandemic has been a time of delays and discouragement. We need strength!

1. Strength to Deal with Delays and Discouragement. I believe discouragement is one of Satan's chief weapons against all Christians but especially those called into ministry. They have a call, a promise and a vision with no way to bring it to pass. When the progress is slow and task is hard, they become prime candidates for discouragement. (Illustration: The Day Satan Had a Yard Sale)

The songwriter, Civilla D. Martin, 1904 says it this way, “Be not dismayed whate’er betide, God will take care of you; Beneath His wings of love abide, God will take care of you. God will take care of you, through every day, o’er all the way; He will take care of you, God will take care of you. Through days of toil when heart doth fail, God will take care of you; When dangers fierce your path assail, God will take care of you. All you may need He will provide; God will take care of you; Nothing you ask will be denied, God will take care of you. No matter what maybe the test, God will take care of you; Lean, weary one, upon His breast, God will take care of you.”

2. Strength to Deal with Decisions we make. The long journey can be complicated by the choices we make. A vision is a powerful thing. We must understand that men do not only have the vision, the vision has the Man. Abraham had a promise and a vision of having a son. God changed his name from Abram to Abraham meaning "father of many nations." A vision has the power to almost consume a man. It is all he can think about, all he can talk about, even if he gets frustrated with it, he cannot lay it down or give up. The vision has the man. Carrying the vision is sometimes painful, tiring, and discouraging. It can also be lonely. During those lonely, discouraging hours, there is the temptation to take matters in our own hands. Nothing seems to force our hand like delay! We understand that there are always consequences for any action we take. What we do can set into motion a series of events that may continue long after we're gone. Unfortunately, when we are deciding, most of us think only of the immediate consequences.