Genesis 15:14

I can be sure that part of God’s promised blessing to me is delay and suffering. The delay in Abraham’s lifetime that seemed to put God’s promise well beyond fulfillment was then followed by the seemingly unending delay experienced by Abraham’s descendants. But it was indeed only a delay—the promise was fulfilled, for ultimately they did “come out with great possessions.”

God is going to test me with delays, and along with the delays will come suffering. Yet through it all God’s promise stands. I have His new covenant in Christ, and His sacred promise of every smaller blessing that I need. The delays and the suffering are actually part of the promised blessings, so may I praise Him for them today. May I “be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD” (Psalm 27:14). CHARLES GALLAUDET TRUMBULL