Delayed
God's pledge of blessing may come with delay and suffering, but faith in Him will ultimately prevail.
Charles E. Cowman preaches about the assurance of God's pledged blessings, emphasizing that delays and suffering are a part of the promised blessing. Just as Abram and his descendants experienced delays and suffering before receiving great substance, believers may also face delays and challenges before seeing God's promises fulfilled. The delay and suffering are opportunities to trust in God's covenant and promises, praising Him even in the midst of trials.
Text
"Know of a surety that thy seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs; . . . they shall afflict them four hundred years; . . . and afterward they shall come out with great substance" (Gen. 15:12-14).
An assured part of God's pledged blessing to us is delay and suffering. A delay in Abram's own lifetime that seemed to put God's pledge beyond fulfillment was followed by seemingly unendurable delay of Abram's descendants. But it was only a delay: they "came out with great substance." The pledge was redeemed.
God is going to test me with delays; and with the delays will come suffering, but through it all stands God's pledge: His new covenant with me in Christ, and His inviolable promise of every lesser blessing that I need. The delay and the suffering are part of the promised blessing; let me praise Him for them today; and let me wait on the Lord and be of good courage and He will strengthen my heart. --C. G. Trumbull
Unanswered yet the prayer your lips have pleaded
In agony of heart these many years?
Does faith begin to fail? Is hope departing?
And think you all in vain those falling tears?
Say not the Father hath not heard your prayer;
You shall have your desire sometime, somewhere.
Unanswered yet? Nay do not say ungranted;
Perhaps your work is not yet wholly done.
The work began when first your prayer was uttered,
And God will finish what He has begun.
If you will keep the incense burning there,
His glory you shall see sometime, somewhere.
Unanswered yet? Faith cannot be unanswered,
Her feet are firmly planted on the Rock;
Amid the wildest storms she stands undaunted,
Nor quails before the loudest thunder shock.
She knows Omnipotence has heard her prayer,
And cries, "It shall be done"--sometime, somewhere.
--Miss Ophelia G. Browning
Sermon Outline
- God's Pledge of Blessing
- Faith in the Face of Delay
- Praising God in the Midst of Delay
- Wait on the Lord and be of good courage
- God will strengthen your heart
- The work is not yet wholly done
Key Quotes
“The delay and the suffering are part of the promised blessing; let me praise Him for them today;” — Charles E. Cowman
“You shall have your desire sometime, somewhere.” — Charles E. Cowman
“Faith cannot be unanswered, Her feet are firmly planted on the Rock;” — Charles E. Cowman
Application Points
- Wait on the Lord and be of good courage in the midst of delay.
- Praise God for the delay and suffering, as they are part of the promised blessing.
- Keep the incense of prayer burning, trusting that God will finish what He has begun.