The Timely Arrival of Isaac

Then the LORD took note of Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had promised.  So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him.  Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.  Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.  Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. (Genesis 21:1-5 NASB)

In the land of Gerar, on the edge of the Negev wilderness, "at the appointed time of which God had spoken..." Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age.  God honored his promise to Abraham to give him a son through Sarah.  The time was right, and it seems the time was important.

Abraham is 100, so Sarah is about 91.  They have just come through a confrontation with the king of the region where they live, and Abraham didn't come out looking very "righteous" or "faithful".  Sarah almost could be said to be with child by Abimelech rather than Abraham, but God stepped in and made that impossible, and obviously so.

Essentially, in Chapters 19 and 20, the timing God gave to Abraham included this particular regional problem.  God knew that Abraham would need to head south and embarrass himself just prior to Isaac being born.  It's all in the timing.  Had Isaac been born earlier, there would have been no need for the deception of Chapter 20.  Obviously a woman with child is more than a "sister".

I wonder about my Master's timing in my life.  He hasn't promised me innumerable seed, but He has led me to the town I live in, He did so one year ago today, and He has blessed me in this place.  It was a process to understand that this was the place and when exactly was the time.  The "process" I used was to simply not do anything until God said to.  It was somewhat awkward at times, but it was also clear.

I learned a lot about my walk with my Master.  I learned that my ways were inadequate and pointless.  I learned that details I worried about were really His problems, not mine.  I learned to trust and that peace is found in trust.  It was truly strange, wonderfully exciting, yet blessedly peaceful.  I learned that even 4,000 years later, my Master still does His work in His "appointed time."