“What is it about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?” I wondered one morning. Sure, He is the God of them, and they are famously known from Hebrews 11 as the patriarchs of faith. And, yes, they are father, son, and grandson, respectively. But as I pondered it all somewhere in the middle of our ten-year family-wait, I went back to Genesis again to revisit their stories when it hit me:
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Each of them married women who were, for an extended period of time, unable to conceive – collectively barren for an approximate 70 years between the three of them.
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But here’s the shining, silvery lining: those three women who waited the longest for their babes birthed men whose lives made the greatest impact. The longer they waited, the more far-reaching their story was. And the farther God’s glory stretched.
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My mind wandered to the words at the end of Psalm 33: “Let Your mercy and lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us, in proportion to our waiting and hoping for You (AMPC).”
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I turned the words over in my mind. His lovingkindness toward me is proportionate to the numbered days of my faithful waiting. And those words blew new life into my otherwise faltering hope.
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Sure, He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But He is also the God of Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel. And the God of their delayed fertility. And the God of their miracle-babes who went on to do mighty things.
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Oh, for the greatness of His glory.
Mercy Like Morning excerpt