Seriously?

Twenty-five years is a long time to wait . . . to hope . . . to cling to a promise.

Twenty-five years is the amount of time that passed between Genesis chapter 12 when God gave a man named Abram a promise and Genesis chapter 21 when Abraham finally cradled that promise in his hands.

Here’s what I want to say to that: Who takes twenty-five years to fulfill a promise? Seriously. Twenty-five years? Was that really necessary?

Although these questions are coming from a woman who has earned the titled “The Queen of Impatience,” I think they’re valid.

God took twenty-five years to do what He could have done in nine months. Why?

Maybe there was more to the promise than meets the eye. Flipping back three pages (and twenty-five years) in my Bible, I read the promise again. Summed up, the promise reads: “I will make you great.”

Every other time I’ve read this passage I’ve focused on the tangible aspects of the promise . . . the nation . . . the land . . . the heir . . . the blessing . . . the greatness. Want to know what I saw this time? This time I saw a promise to make something of a man who was nothing. God promised to take a pagan idol worshipper and make him into a God follower. How did I miss that before?

In light of this aspect of the promise, the twenty-five year delay begins to make sense. It seems less cruel, even shorter somehow. After all, it takes a long time to truly make a man great.

Had God fulfilled the promise of a son right out of the gates, He would have dropped the promise right into the hands of a man who had a lot to learn . . . a lot to learn about patience . . . a lot to learn about God . . . a lot to learn about life . . . a lot to learn about death  . . . a lot to learn about true greatness.

It’s all starting to make sense now. Abraham was a different man in Genesis chapter 21. Duh! Although he was still flawed, he was twenty-five years further along in his journey with God. He was twenty-five years further along in his journey toward greatness.

This makes me consider my own “yet to be fulfilled promise.” You see, God has promised me greatness. Before you think me arrogant, read Romans 8:29-30:

For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

The promise is right there in black and white. God has promised greatness. He has promised to make something out of nothing. He has promised to take an idol worshipper and make her into a God follower . . . an image bearer . . . a woman of greatness.

Knowing the woman as well as I do, I figure that’s going to take some time . . . a long time . . . a time so long twenty-five years may begin to look short . . . seriously . . .