In Between: More Than A Promise | Ps. Hendra Tambunan | IFGF San Francisco

The in-between season names that hard place between one moment and another moment, where waiting feels frustrating because the direction is not clear and the timing is not known. The little boy waiting for the trash truck gives the picture: the truck was promised by its pattern, the trash was still there, but the absence made the waiting feel like maybe the driver forgot. The believer often does the same with God. God’s delay starts to feel like God’s absence, and the heart begins asking if God has forgotten.

Genesis shows Abraham and Sarah living twenty five years between what God said and the fulfillment of what he said. The story is not primarily about a man waiting for a son. Genesis is showing a faithful God revealing himself to his people, because the promise can become so big that the God who made the promise gets forgotten. Every promise carries an initial offering, a waiting time, and a fulfillment.

God’s first offering to Abraham was not Isaac. God offered himself. In Genesis 15, after Abraham had been caught in the conflict of kings, rescued Lot, rejected the spoils of Sodom, and stood in a vulnerable place, God said, “Fear not, Abraham. I am your shield. Your reward shall be very great.” Before God talked about what he would do, God reminded Abraham who he was for him. God was protector. God was rewarder. God’s greatest gift was not what he gives, but himself.

The waiting season revealed what was inside Sarah’s heart. In Genesis 16, Sarah looked at her body, her age, and her situation, and concluded that the Lord had prevented her from bearing children. God had not changed, and the promise had not changed, but her perspective had changed. Instead of interpreting circumstances through God’s promise, Sarah began interpreting God’s promise through her circumstances. Hagar became plan B, not because Sarah had evil intention, but because painful waiting often pushes the heart toward what can be controlled.

God returned in Genesis 18 not with an explanation, but with revelation: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” The clay may only feel spinning, water, pressure, and confusion, but the potter already sees the finished vessel. The back of the crochet may look messy, with loose threads, delays, closed doors, and broken dreams, but the finished work changes the perspective. Genesis 21 shows the Lord visited Sarah, the Lord did, and the Lord fulfilled as he had promised. Isaac arrived, but the greater miracle was discovering God’s unceasing faithfulness. The promise was not the reward. God himself was the reward, the shield, and the more than enough presence found in the waiting.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God gives himself before Isaac God’s first word to Abraham was not about the son, but about God himself: “I am your shield” and “I am your reward.” The heart can become so fixed on the thing being asked for that the greatest gift becomes treated like a means to an end. God’s presence is not the consolation prize while waiting for the promise; God’s presence is the treasure that makes the promise rightly received. [57:29]
• 2. Delay can feel like absence The waiting child did not question whether trash trucks exist; the child questioned why the truck was not there yet. The same confusion happens when God does not move according to a personal timetable. The hardest part of waiting may not be time itself, but believing that God is still near when nothing visible has changed. [54:17]
• 3. Waiting reveals hidden control Sarah’s plan with Hagar showed how pain can turn the heart toward something manageable. The promise had not changed, but circumstances began to interpret God instead of God interpreting the circumstances. A plan B can look reasonable, even spiritual, while quietly exposing that control has become easier to trust than God’s timing. [66:07]
• 4. God reveals more than reasons God did not answer Sarah’s laughter by explaining every year of delay. God answered with a question that brought her back to his character: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” The waiting season is not wasted when it becomes a place where God reveals who he is more deeply than why everything happened. [67:27]
• 5. The finished work changes perspective The back of the crochet looks like loose threads, crossed colors, and disorder, but the completed piece reveals intention. Abraham spent years looking at the messy side of delay until God turned the work around in fulfillment. The faithful hand of God can be weaving what still looks confusing, and the promise may arrive with a deeper discovery: God never stopped being faithful.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [50:57] - Prayer for the Holy Spirit
• [51:59] - The Frustration of In-Between
• [52:29] - Waiting for the Trash Truck
• [55:06] - Abraham and Sarah’s Long Delay
• [56:29] - More Than the Promise
• [57:29] - God Offers Himself First
• [60:49] - God Is Shield and Reward
• [63:24] - Waiting Reveals the Heart
• [64:07] - Sarah, Hagar, and Plan B
• [67:27] - Is Anything Too Hard?
• [68:53] - The Potter and the Clay
• [71:20] - God Proves His Faithfulness
• [73:01] - The Crochet and the Masterpiece
• [77:20] - Treasure God While Waiting

1. In Genesis 15:1, what two things does God declare about Himself to Abraham before mentioning any specific promise?
2. What reason does Sarah give in Genesis 16:2 for suggesting Abraham have a child with Hagar?
3. How does God respond to Sarah’s doubt in Genesis 18:14?
4. What repeated phrase in Genesis 21:1-2 emphasizes God’s faithfulness?

1. Why do you think God begins by calling Himself Abraham’s “shield” and “reward” in Genesis 15:1 instead of immediately talking about Isaac?
2. Sarah says, “The Lord has prevented me from bearing children” (Genesis 16:2). How might her circumstances have distorted her view of God’s character and promise?
3. The sermon compares waiting to looking at the “back of a crochet” project [13:34]. How does this metaphor help explain the tension between confusion in waiting and trust in God’s plan?
4. Genesis 21:1-2 repeatedly states “the Lord visited… the Lord did… the Lord fulfilled.” What does this teach about the relationship between God’s character and His promises?

1. What “trash truck” situation are you currently waiting for in your life (e.g., a resolution, answer, or breakthrough)? How might focusing on God as your “shield” in this season change your perspective? [57:29]
2. Sarah created a “Plan B” when waiting felt unbearable. What practical steps or habits could help you avoid rushing into human solutions when God’s timing feels unclear?
3. The potter-and-clay metaphor [08:53] describes feeling spinning and pressure in waiting. What practical reminder could you create to trust God’s unseen work when your circumstances feel chaotic?
4. How might you intentionally “treasure God’s presence” this week—not just His promises—in an area where you’re tempted to grow weary?
5. The sermon says, “Delay can feel like absence” [54:17]. What truth about God’s character (from Scripture) could you meditate on when His timing confuses you?
6. Sarah’s story shows how waiting exposes our desire for control. What “loose thread” in your life (unanswered prayer, delay, etc.) could you surrender to God’s faithfulness today?