“It’s not where we start that matters…..it’s about where we finish.” A great quote from Christie Wimber, and so true. She shared that although Abraham had believed God’s promise for so long and not given up, Sarai decided to take matters into her own hands and told him to sleep with her maidservant. Ishmael was the product. At this point in the story Christie exclaimed “sometimes we live with the counterfeit so long that we begin to believe that it’s the real article”. How many times in our lives do we get to a point where we’ve waited so long for a promise to be fulfilled that we begin to settle for less? Settle for less than the Father’s amazing abundance. How many times do we try to force the promise to be fulfilled early, or in our own way? In this, we settle for the counterfeit. We grow impatient or frustrated and give up. We deceive ourselves into thinking that the counterfeit is enough.

 
I would like to suggest that it is not just WHERE we finish that matters (though that is essential), but also that it is so important TO finish.
If you have waited for a long time for something and you’re feeling weary, frustrated or impatient, I would like to encourage you…..Hang in there!  “Never stop expecting God to come through.” Worship Him and praise Him for how He’s working, even though you can’t see it and NEVER settle for less than the awesome blessing He has for YOU.

 
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him…… he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised Rom 4:18-21 para.