Lord, listen to my words.
Understand my sadness.
Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
because I pray to you.
Lord, every morning you hear my voice.
Every morning, I tell you what I need,
and I wait for your answer.
—Psalm 5:1-3

The “cry for help” part I can do, no problem. In fact, the server this website is hosted on stopped working at midnight, for no apparent reason. As I’m scrambling to diagnose and fix it, I’m also desperately praying, “Help!” And isn’t that typical of all of us? The instant something goes wrong we’re looking for a solution, the sooner the better. And in this instant-everything culture we live in, anything less than an immediate response from God seems like a disappointment.

Abram had the same problem in Genesis 15 and 16 (no, not a broken web server). He had no children, no heir to inherit all his wealth. But! God promised him a son. And grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and… You get the picture. The problem was that Abram was getting on in years and this promised son wasn’t happening. He’d talked to God, he knew God had heard him. He just had trouble waiting for God’s answer.

So he took matters into his own hands and got his wife’s handmaid pregnant and things got really complicated really quickly. Instead of waiting for God’s solution to his problem he tried to implement his own solution. It backfired on him. He got the son he wanted, but at a huge cost to his family and his descendants. And the true son that God had promised, born of his wife, didn’t arrive for another fourteen years. It was a long wait.

I can relate to Abram. I’m quick to ask for God’s help but reluctant to wait on God’s timing. I need to trust Him, know that He has heard my cry for help, and wait for His answer. It’s a matter of faith.

And yes, the server is working again.

Bible Reading:
Genesis 15:1–16:16
Psalm 5:1-6
Proverbs 2:6-8
Matthew 6:19-34