Gestation
February 1, 2009
Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?…And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. (Genesis 17:17;19)
Gestation: the process of being carried in the womb from conceptionuntil birth, the duration of such a process. Figuratively, the development of something new over time. The gestation period for different animals lasts for different lengths of time: for a house mouse just three weeks, for a human about 40 weeks, for an elephant 92 weeks. In mammals it seems, the length of gestation corresponds to the size of what is going to be birthed.
Sometimes we wonder why it is taking so long for our process when it seems that God is moving more quickly with others. Could it be the magnitude and scope of what needs to be birthed, or the trial of our faith? - or both!The spiritual conception of Abraham’s promise came when he was 75. (Which goes to show that it’s never too late for God to use us, even in ways that seem impossible!) God covenanted with Abram that he would be a father of many nations. (Gen. 12)
The natural conception and ensuing gestation of that Spiritual promise did not manifest for another 25 years! Abraham tried to ‘man’ipulate his own way to the promise by fleshly means because it wasn’t coming fast enough, (he wasn’t fully convinced that it could even happen). Waiting for years through God’s silence is difficult!God had sworn to bless Abraham with a child and God cannot lie.There are times when we, like Abraham, have to “believe in hope against hope” that God’s promises are sure and secure despite what we see and feel about our natural circumstances. (Romans 4:18)
We must hold our assurance of faith steadfast until the end, and allow the promise of God to be an anchor for our soul (keeping our mind, emotions, and will in check) until He comes. (Hebrews 6:18-20) God has not forgotten us! (Hebrews 6:10-11)When our conception or gestation period is taking longer than we’d like, and we’re serving God and others faithfully; Paul advises us to imitate saints like Abraham in the annals of faith (Hebrews 11) who were not spiritually lazy, but through diligence, faith, and patient endurance inherited the promises of God! (Hebrews 6:11-15) So hold on! Don’t stop doing good! Remain faithful! and believe God’s promise!
