The Answer Will Come

Verse of the day: 1 Samuel 1:20, So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the LORD.”

Hannah’s life is a good example of what living out our faith from day to day should look like. We have already seen how she trusted God and went to Him when she had to deal with the persecution she suffered at the hands of Peninnah, and how she responded to Eli’s false accusation. Hannah continued to demonstrate that her faith was not just a “flash in the pan”. It was a continuous, steady faith. How do we know this? This is where doing more than just skimming God’s Word becomes beneficial to us in our walk with Him. Note the phrase “in the process of time”. God answered Hannah’s prayer, but not right away. She left the house of the Lord and went on to live her everyday life. It was in the process of time, or as she lived her life, that God then answered her request. Although it is true that our faith may often be tested in short spurts, the fact of the matter is that life itself is a test of faith. Hebrews 10:37-38 says, “For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. 38 Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” God has made promises that have yet to be fulfilled in respect to His coming. While we wait and live for Him, there will be challenges to our faith. There will be persecutions, and circumstances in life that will cause us to go to God in anguish. We will suffer needs that will drive us to our knees, whether for us personally or for family, loved ones, or our brothers and sisters in Christ. We will face momentary challenges that require a dose of faith for the moment, and we will face circumstances that require faith for the long haul. Some of us will wait, days, weeks, months, and even years, for answers to prayers. We will pray, and we will get discouraged when it seems like our prayers have hit the ceiling and come right back at us. However, the fact of the matter is that God is not a forgetful God. He hears our prayers and answers in due time, and due time is His time. Hannah prayed in faith and went on to live her life in that faith. In due time, God answered and she conceived. God promised Sarah and Abraham that they would have a child, but the promise was not fulfilled right away. Abraham was 75 years old when God promised that he would become a great nation (Gen 12). At age 85, God repeats the promise (Gen 15). At age 100, God, once again, repeats His promise (Gen 17) and finally fulfills it. Twenty-five years after God made His promise to Abraham, Sarah has not yet conceived. In their case, they chose to take matters into their own hands by Sarah giving Hagar, her maidservant, to Abraham, which opened up a “can of worms” that has brought much suffering to the Middle East, and around the world, even today. Yet, God was not slack concerning His promise to Abraham. In Genesis 21, we read that God finally fulfilled the promise He made so long before. Even though God took 25 years to fulfill His promise to Abraham, He remained faithful to His Word. How long do we wait before we get impatient with God? When He does not answer our request in a day or two, or when He makes us wait a week or more, do we give up? Have we been praying for something for years without seeing an answer? Have we become bitter and distant because God does not seem to answer our request? Are we so consumed with what we want that every day has become a struggle because of that one unanswered prayer? Hannah had the right approach to her faith. She brought it before the Lord, stood up with peace in her heart and mind, and continued living life, trusting that God heard her cries and would fulfill it according to His will and in His time. The greatest promise yet to be fulfilled is that of Jesus’ return. We, as God’s children, should be living life in light of that promise. 1 Peter 3 reminds us that there will be scoffers who will mock that promise because it has not come to pass. Nonetheless, God promised in 1 Peter 3:10 that His return would be sudden and unexpected like a thief in the night. 1 Peter 3:8-9 reminds us, “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” Brothers and sisters, are we truly living life by faith as we wait for the Lord to fulfill the ultimate promise of His return? If we say we are, is it evident in our attitude, the words we speak, and the action of our deeds?

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).