If Abraham and Sarah had been willing to wait a little longer, Isaac would have been born and the promise of God fulfilled. But they became impatient and, as a result, Ishmael was born. One of the names given to God in Scripture is ‘Redeemer’, because He can redeem our mistakes and turn them into learning experiences; He can turn the mess you make into the miracle you need. It took three generations, but God turned the mess Abraham made into the miracle of deliverance Joseph needed. Joseph’s destiny was to be ruler of Egypt and save his family and the world in time of famine. But because his brothers resented him, they sold him as a slave to ‘a company of Ishmaelites’. These were the descendants of Ishmael, who was born to Abraham and Hagar, Sarah’s maid. And where were these Ishmaelites going? To Egypt! ‘Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt…so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt’ (vv. 25, 28 NKJV). It’s not over until God says it’s over. He can turn the mess you made in the past into a miracle you need in the future. And that miracle will not only bless you, but others too. And perhaps those others will be in your own family, just as in the case of Joseph.

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.