Text: Genesis 21:1.
“And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as
he had spoken.”
I cannot get away from this word because it is the word the Lord has used
to set the month for me and for all my partners around the world. No human
being can be this close to keeping their promises just like God no matter
how hard they try. There is always the fallible part of us that shows up
even when we make every effort to keep our words. I have realized that it
is not a function of position or power or otherwise. Not even money can
bring us to this place. Only God has the monopoly of saying what He says
and seeing to it that it comes to pass.
As I write this message, I am reminded of our former President, General
Olusegun Obasanjo. This man has been most privileged in life to be a
military head of state and a two term president of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria. He was also head of the African Union as well as ECOWAS. Yet,
when his late wife, Stella died, he made one of the most profound
statements a man would ever make. He said, twice he made a promise to his
wife and on those two occasions, he failed to keep his promise. The first
time, he promised to give her a golden jubilee party when she turned
fifty. Unfortunately for her, he was incarcerated. Even though he was a
former military head of state and as at that time highly respected in the
comity of nations, he was just unable to keep his promise to his wife.
The second time, he promised to make it up to her at her sixtieth
birthday. This time around, she was dead. The cold hands of death defied
him. Even though at this time, he was president of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, reputed to be the most populous black nation and one of the
richest nations on earth. He was also Chairman of African Union. Yet, he
was so powerless to keep a promise he made as a human being. How this can
happen to us sometimes when we make promises? Just when we earnestly
desire to keep our promises, we are incarcerated. We find ourselves in
some sort of prison where we are just not able to keep our promises. It
can even get worse than been unable when it seems like we are dead. We
become totally divorced from every thing that will enable us keep our
promises.
Even though this can happen to human beings, it can never happen to God.
God will keep His promise to you no matter how long it takes. For Abraham
and Sarah, it seemed like all hope was lost. When hope is lost, everything
seems to be lost. This is so because hope is that tiny thread that
connects us to the next meal, the next job, the next promotion, the next
station. Hope is one rich treasure that we all have in one. No matter how
bad things get, don’t lose it. Keep your hope alive. Be hopeful. The sun
will shine again. The moon will shine again. The day will follow night.
The rain will come after the heat. After twelve midnight is one in the
morning.
“Full of hope, you’ll relax, confident again; you’ll look around, sit
back, and take it easy.” Job 11:18. The Message Version.
Men will fail you just as you have failed many people in your little life
on earth. But God never fails. Whatever He said He will do with you or for
you or through you, He will see to it that it comes to pass just as He
said it. He never fails. He will not experiment with you. “…for He [God]
Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave
you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any
degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down ( relax My hold
on you)! [ Assuredly not!].” Heb. 13:5. Amplified Version.
Three things about God’s word I wish to remind you of. One, God creates
His universe with His word. Only once we find God deep His hands in mud to
make something and that was when the human frame was formed in Gen. 2:7.
Every time we see God create, He does it by speaking words. Nothing
happens unless He speaks it first. “The fact is, GOD, the Master, does
nothing without first telling his prophets the whole story.” Amos 3:7. The
Message Version. That is why you will see in Genesis one, nine times, the
Bible said, “And God said…” Each time He said, things were created. If God
wants to create your world, He will speak His word to you directly or
indirectly. You will have to commit to hear Him speak His word to you and
hold on to that word no matter how long it takes to come to pass.
Two, God’s word are seeds. A seed has the capacity to reproduce itself
only when planted. God treats His word as seeds because they are. “…The
seed is the word of God.” Luke 8:11. You can eat your seed or you can
plant it. Every time a seed is ignored, it never releases what is inside.
When that seed is planted, it dies and then the reproduction process
begins. “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the
ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But
if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over.” John
12:24. The Message Version. Every word that God has spoken to you is your
seed. Plant it into your world by speaking what He has said. God’s
universe hears His voice. Speak His word and your world will hear God’s
voice in your voice and His word will come to pass in your life.
Three, God’s word is the only constant. Everything else changes but His
word. When it is all over, His word will remain. People come and go.
Everything takes their turn in the wheel of time. But His word is the
same. He has never changed His word at all. “Heaven and earth shall pass
away, but my words shall not pass away.” Matt. 24:35. Build your life,
marriage, business, career, finances, etc on the rock of His word.
Formulas will fail. Policies will fail. Plans will fail. Governments will
fail. Your spouse will fail. But God’s word never fails.
Copyrights© Bishop Michael O. Amamieye, 2011.
It is well!
Yours truly,
In covenant bond with Jehovah,