Genesis: A Waiting Saga

We’ve all read the first couple chapters of Genesis – multiple times. My guess is it happens around the first week of January when we make a new year’s resolution to read the bible more :). We’ve read Genesis so many times that we end up glossing over it. I myself used to speed read through chapter 1 because I thought I knew everything it said… until one day I saw something I had never noticed before….

Before God created something, He ensured that on the day before, He created what was needed to sustain whatever He would create the next day. God knew that on the last day He would create man – and so everything that was created before him provided him with stability, sustenance and purpose (fill the earth, govern and take care of it, and commune with God/show His glory). Let’s read Genesis Chapter 1 from the end backwards…

On the 6^th day God created man and asked him to govern the earth and reign over all the creatures. But man needed food to eat and creatures to govern. And so earlier that day – and also on day 5 – God created the animals, fish, sea creatures and birds that man was to reign over (and eat). Additionally, on day 3, God created seed-bearing plants and fruits for man (and the animals) to eat.  But the plants needed a place to grow. And so on day 3, before He created the plants, God separated the land from the sea so that the plants can have land to grow on, and so that the sea creatures can have a place to call home. But all the living creatures and plants needed life-sustaining light, heat and water. And so on days 2 and 1 God created light as well as the sky to ‘house’ the sun, moon, stars, and rain-bearing clouds.

This Genesis story demonstrates that God is a God of order – which meant that some aspects of creation had to wait to be made in order to ensure their survival. Had God created man on day one (when the earth was formless and empty), where would man live? What would he eat? How would he carry out his purpose?

Nothing tests our faith more than waiting on God for answers to our prayers. But while we may not understand why He is making us wait, God in His infinite wisdom knows what is needed to sustain what we have asked of Him – and so sometimes we must wait until He finishes laying down the foundation for whatever He plans to bless us with. God may also wait until His work to mature us (spiritually or in character) is complete before He grants us the desires of our hearts – to ensure that we are well-equipped to be good stewards of what He entrusts to us.

Although sometimes we disagree with God’s decision to make us wait, we ourselves as human beings recognize the importance of waiting – in fact, in some situations, waiting is quite literally a life-saving necessity. As much as we may be in a hurry, if a traffic light turns red, we must wait for it to change back to green in order to proceed safely – anything else would spell disaster for us. Unless medically necessary, no matter how uncomfortable a pregnant woman might be, she would not accept the offer to have the baby delivered super early to relieve her discomfort because it would spell doom for her unborn baby. As much as a parent may love their child, there is no way they would give them a car if they asked for it when they are young; they would ask the child to wait until they are of age – giving it to them prematurely would be a most irresponsible and dangerous decision.

Waiting on God is not fun – especially when we don’t see the reason why He is “delayed” in giving us what He has promised us. But Matthew 7:9-11 tells us: “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” So with this promise in mind, let us pray with faith and patiently trust and wait for our Good Father to do what’s in our best interests (according to Him), in His own perfect timing. Let us wait expectantly with thanksgiving in our hearts (not bitterness). Furthermore, let us overcome the temptation to jump ahead of His plan/timing. Though God promised Abraham and Sarah a son, He took 25+ years to deliver that promise. In the interim, Abram and Sarai took matters into their own hands instead of waiting on God. Some sources point out that their premature action still affects our world because the two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, became fathers of nations that are still in conflict to this day.

Noteworthy: When we pray, we should accept the fact that God’s answer can be yes, no, or wait. That said, God promises us that if we delight in Him, He will give us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4). For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless (Psalm 84:11).

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