Living in the Gap (a Cody post)

Genesis 16:16 & 17:1

16. Abraham was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.  1. When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty….”

Have you ever wondered why God was so much more vocal in “Bible times” than He is today? He was so chatty in the Old Testament. Always talking; always giving commands; always parting waters…or so my frustrations would lead me to believe.

The reality is that God seems to have spoken sparingly. Take Abram for example. Abram’s story does not show God as overly talkative. Rather, He is unbearably sparse in his communications with Abram. My friend Steve pointed out that the writer of Genesis gives us snapshots of Abram’s key encounters with God, and for a man who lived well into triple digits his encounters with God were relatively few.

In the above verses Abram goes thirteen years from the time Ishmael is born to the time he next hears from God regarding the status of the promise for land and descendants. However, take note that Abram waited far more than thirteen years between his encounters with God. His last interaction with God before age 99 came at the beginning of chapter fifteen. It is there that Abram first tells God of his idea to have a descendant through his servant girl, and God quickly corrects Abram (15:4). So the question is, how many years passed between 15:1 and 17:1? It was at the very least thirteen years and forty weeks, and that’s only if Abram walked away from chapter 15 and immediately paid a visit to Hagar. So how long was his wait? Fifteen years? Twenty years? How do you think Abram handled those years?

Sarai: Abram, have you talked to God lately? Why aren’t we pregnant?

Abram: You know I haven’t honey. I don’t know why things aren’t happening like he said.

Sarai: Well did you tell him about Hagar?

Abram: Of course I did. He told me she wasn’t the answer.

Sarai: Are you sure? It was so long ago and your memory is getting fuzzy.

Abram: Just because I forgot where I parked the camel ONE TIME doesn’t mean I’m losing my mind. I know exactly what God said. But I’m starting to wonder myself.

Sarai: We’ve been waiting so long. And besides we’re so old. There’s no way this is happening. I think it’s time to visit Hagar.

Abram: I’ve been thinking the same thing. It has been such a long wait. I just want us to be happy and have a whole family. Plus I know God wants this for us also. It only makes sense…

I wish we knew more about what life was like for Abram and Sarai in the gap between their holy visitations. I find it so hard to live in this gap between God’s promise and the fulfillment of that promise. I’m sure I’m not alone in this struggle. Why the wait? Why doesn’t fulfillment come sooner? At the very least could we get a glimpse of what’s going on so we’ll know the wait is serving some greater purpose?

Abram may yet hold the answer for us. In 15:6 we’re told, “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” It is more than coincidental that Abram’s faith comes into play at every encounter with God. From Ur to Mt. Moriah, Abram’s faith is formed, purified, solidified, with alarming intention on the part of Yahweh. The gaps are there for a reason.

God appoints the gaps. Perhaps that’s the harshest reality in all of it, because the formation of our faith is far from painless. It is in the crucible of suffering, the dark night of the soul, that we truly discover the depths of our unbelief. Here our faith is shaken to its core. Prior to these sorrowful moments faith came easy because we had what we wanted, like a toddler getting a piece of candy at the checkout line. However, in the gap we find that faith does not come easy, nor does faith guarantee safety. We have to wrestle with the seeming contradiction that God is good, and suffering is real. The gap is that place, where loneliness reigns, where bitterness rages, where doubts mock us, where anger seethes, where tears never stop. It is also a place where we share company with people named Abram, Sarai, Moses, Naomi, Job, Jeremiah, and Simeon. And as with them, it is a place where God meets us.

In the gaps we learn to treasure God above all else. Our faith becomes pure as we love him in sorrow as well as joy. The harshest circumstances drive us deeper in communion, rather than giving us reason to flee. What’s more, I believe the gaps will make heaven that much more amazing (Rev. 21:4). There, surrounded by our family of faith, reunited with loved ones, face to face with our Savior, we will worship without reservation our God who was present in the valleys. The time in between promises given and promises fulfilled is hard, but good, because God is our reward.

Thank you Father for your presence in this gap; for your infinite patience with me; for redeeming this time. Since I am not enduring this time gracefully, nor willingly, I ask you to bend my heart to yours. Reassure my feeble faith by your Word. May I wait in such a way that brings honor to your name, and credibility to your gospel. Amen.