“Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him.” (Genesis 21:5)
When specific verses of the Bible seem to jump off the page, I feel like God wants me to pay attention. It’s almost as if He is speaking to me directly. Genesis 21:5 can be taken two ways. On the surface, Abraham waited a long time for his wife to give birth to their promised child. On a deeper level, Abraham lived long enough to see God’s purpose for his life become reality.
Some people think once we reach our retirement years, our best days are behind us. I retired from teaching at age 60 and published my first book at 66. I’m a firm believer God’s timing is never too late! But sometimes our creative projects remain on the back burner for years.
I’ve had a picture book idea, Manatee School, in various stages of development for ten years. I’d bring the manuscript out—toss around the words, and make more revisions than I can count. In 2015 I pitched Manatee School to several editors, only to be turned down because they were looking for other genres. Eventually I rewrote the rhyming picture book into a Clubhouse Junior Magazine nonfiction article, Counting Manatees. Last year I entered my Manatee School picture book manuscript in the 2023 Florida Tapestry Awards and won honorable mention.
Since then, the idea of publishing another book filled me with dread. I did not want to experience any more rejections, nor did I want the stress which accompanies launching another book. That was until God spoke to me through Abraham’s story.
Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born. Biblical research shares that the “waiting” period was necessary to test Abraham’s and Sarah’s faith. When Abraham was 75, God promised him that his descendants would be a great nation. At that time Sarah was in her sixties and barren. She was well beyond child-bearing age, and laughed at the thought of being a mother.
After ten more years of waiting, Sarah decided to speed up God’s timing by making her own plan. She encouraged Abraham to sleep with her Egyptian servant, Haggai, who conceived Ishmael. But Ishmael was not the child God had promised Abraham.
When Sarah rushed ahead with her own plans, God could see the couple’s faith had not grown enough to warrant His miracle child, the one to be the carrier of the covenant. So He added another fifteen years to Sarah’s barrenness. God did not doubt himself or his promise. He knew His words would come to pass in His timing. “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Romans 11:29 (NASB)
God had a timeline which involved Abraham and Sarah fully trusting in Him rather than relying on human possibilities. Their faith is noted in Hebrews 11:12, “And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.” God wants everyone to know He is still in the miracle working business!
God sees the big picture of my life, and Manatee School is my promised child. Like Abraham and Sarah, I have experienced a delay. Perhaps God is waiting for me to be more faithful to the work. Maybe He wants me to add something to the story to make it more relatable to children. The day after I read about Abraham and Sarah, I wrote new characters (a child and her grandfather) into the plot. I have a feeling God has not “closed the book” regarding the publication of Manatee School. Remembering Abraham helps me trust God’s timing.
If you are in the waiting stage of finishing a creative work, don’t lose sight of the finish line. Pray and ask God if you need to make any changes. Trust Him to give you the ideas and discipline you need to bring your project to fulfillment.
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