God Can: Waiting on God's Promises

Jun 07, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Stars as Reminders of Unseen Promises

When God promised Abraham descendants as countless as the stars, He gave him a nightly reminder to sustain his faith. Every time Abraham gazed at the sky, he saw God’s faithfulness written in light. Waiting seasons often feel like dark nights, but God provides tangible signs to anchor our hope. These “stars” might be scriptures, prayers, or quiet assurances whispered in worship. They don’t erase the wait, but they remind us God’s promises are alive. Cling to what He’s given you—it’s proof He’s still working. [17:39]

“Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.”
(Genesis 15:5, KJV)

Reflection: What “stars” has God placed in your life to remind you of His promises? How can you fix your gaze on them when doubt creeps in?

Day 2: Ishmael’s Shadow: When We Settle for “Good Enough”

Abraham’s choice to father Ishmael reveals the danger of forcing solutions when God’s timing feels slow. Human effort often creates complications—blessed, but not divine. Settling for what’s achievable now can delay the extraordinary God intends. Ishmaels drain energy; Isaacs fulfill destiny. Every compromise whispers, “This is close enough,” but God’s best requires patient trust. Don’t let impatience birth what He never ordained. [19:45]

“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.”
(Hebrews 10:35–36, KJV)

Reflection: Where have you settled for an “Ishmael” instead of waiting for God’s “Isaac”? What step of surrender is He asking of you today?

Day 3: Laughter in the Tent: When Doubt Muffles Faith

Sarah’s stifled laugh echoed the tension between God’s promise and her reality. Age, time, and logic screamed “impossible,” yet God’s question still thunders: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Doubt often hides in quiet corners of the heart, masked by Sunday smiles. But faith isn’t the absence of questions—it’s choosing to trust despite them. God isn’t threatened by our struggles; He meets us there. [29:02]

“Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”
(Mark 9:23–24, KJV)

Reflection: Where does your heart laugh nervously at God’s promises? How can you honestly bring that doubt to Him while choosing to believe?

Day 4: The Appointed Time: Trusting God’s Schedule Over Ours

Twenty-five years passed before Abraham held Isaac. God’s “appointed time” isn’t a delay—it’s divine preparation. Seasons of waiting aren’t wasted; they’re where faith muscles grow. Joseph endured pits and prisons before palaces. David hid in caves before crowns. God’s timing protects, prepares, and positions us. His schedule isn’t late—it’s perfectly synchronized for your good and His glory. [33:18]

“He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.”
(Ecclesiastes 3:11, KJV)

Reflection: What area of your life feels stuck in “God’s waiting room”? How might He be preparing you while you wait?

Day 5: The Empty Tomb: Your Promise Reminder

The cross seemed like defeat, but the empty tomb proved no promise is too hard for God. Resurrection power didn’t just raise Jesus—it guarantees every word God speaks will come to pass. Your Red Sea, your Lazarus, your impossible mountain—all bow to the God who conquers death. The tomb is empty; your hope is full. Whatever you face, scream it: “God can!” [40:26]

“He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”
(Matthew 28:6, KJV)

Reflection: How does the empty tomb reshape how you view your current struggles? What “dead” situation needs you to declare, “God can”?

Sermon Summary

Genesis 18 raises a simple, cutting question: “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?” That question meets a people stuck in the wait. God says yes, then gives no timeline. The text shows Abraham at seventy-five hearing a life-altering word: leave and I will make you a great nation. Abraham moves without details, because faith takes God at his word and acts. Faith, not performance, activates what God promised. God then walks Abraham outside and stitches the sky with a promise. Every star becomes a reminder that the word is still alive, a hold-on for the long night while the promise tarries.

But chapter 16 shows the danger in the gap between promise and performance. Sarah suggests a shortcut. Hagar bears Ishmael. That move births tension, complication, and blame. Ishmael is what happens when human effort gets involved. Isaac will be what happens when God fulfills his word. That is the difference between what God allows and what God intends, between permissive will and perfect will. Settling for what is available risks missing what is appointed.

Two and a half decades pass. God reappears as El Shaddai, God Almighty, and speaks identity before evidence. He names Abram “Abraham,” father of many, and Sarai “Sarah,” mother of nations. God calls destiny while reality still looks barren. In chapter 18, a ninety-year-old Sarah laughs from the tent, not from joy but from weariness that can no longer reconcile promise with present. So the Lord asks the question that levels every excuse: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” The answer carries three anchors. God’s power knows no limits. Creation itself testifies that conditions do not cage his word. God’s timing is always perfect. “At the appointed time” confronts every calendar that demands control. And God keeps his promises. He did not cancel, he completed. Sarah conceived. Isaac cried. The word became visible.

Yet Isaac is only a preview. The promised son points to the Promised Son. Just as God kept his word to Abraham, God kept his word to the world. In the fullness of time, a Child was born, a Son was given. Jesus walked, healed, bled, and rose. The empty cross and the rolled stone preach the same refrain: God can. If God can raise Jesus from the dead, then no closed door, no dry season, no late diagnosis is too hard. The call is clear: refuse Ishmael, wait for Isaac, believe the One who names the future before it shows up.

Key Takeaways

1. God’s power knows no limits [30:01] God’s work is not constrained by age, odds, or atmosphere. Creation itself is God’s receipt that nothing stands outside his reach. The Red Sea, Lazarus, and five loaves say the same thing in different keys: conditions are not criteria for God. When the situation is larger than strength, that only makes more room for his almighty name to act. [30:01]
2. Waiting is formation, not failure [33:18] Delay does not mean denial; delay often means discipleship. In the wait, God builds a frame strong enough to carry what he intends to give. Joseph’s pit and prison, David’s caves and chases, become classrooms for trust. The appointed time arrives to a heart that has learned to rest more in God than in outcomes. [33:18]
3. Beware Ishmael, wait for Isaac [23:55] Shortcuts can look efficient but seed lifelong complications. Suggestions that God never instructed feel practical when faith feels heavy, yet they trade promise for pressure. Ishmael may be blessed, but he is not the word God spoke. Patience protects destiny by refusing to manufacture what only God should deliver. [23:55]
4. God names destiny before evidence [26:48] El Shaddai renames Abraham and Sarah before the nursery is built. God speaks to identity while reality still says otherwise, not as hype but as holy certainty. Receiving God’s naming reorders imagination, prayer, and choices around what he intends. When God calls a thing, the future is already moving toward fulfillment. [26:48]
5. The cross secures every promise [41:05] Isaac previews a greater Son whose resurrection seals God’s yes. If death could not hold Jesus, then no promise hangs by a thread; it hangs by a risen Lord. The empty tomb is the believer’s timeline and guarantee, proof that God can finish what he starts. Looking to the cross steadies hope when the tent still feels empty. [41:05]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[07:58] - When yes comes with waiting
[09:44] - The assurance: God can
[12:01] - Text: “Is anything too hard?”
[12:58] - Abram’s call at seventy-five
[14:57] - God responds to faith, not works
[17:39] - Counting stars, holding a promise
[19:27] - The gap and Hagar’s shortcut
[22:50] - Permissive will vs perfect will
[26:48] - El Shaddai and new names
[29:21] - Sarah’s laugh and God’s question
[30:01] - Point 1: Power without limits
[32:01] - Point 2: Appointed time
[39:01] - Isaac points to Jesus
[40:26] - Resurrection proof that God can

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Genesis 18:14 (KJV)
“Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

Observation questions

What specific question does God ask Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 18:14, and what promise does He reaffirm?
In the sermon, what examples were given of Abraham and Sarah’s actions during their 25-year wait for Isaac? [19:27]
How did God visually remind Abraham of His promise in Genesis 15:5, and what did this symbolize? [17:39]
What contrast was highlighted between Ishmael (human effort) and Isaac (God’s fulfillment)? [21:44]

Interpretation questions

Why do you think God allowed Abraham and Sarah to wait 25 years for Isaac instead of fulfilling the promise immediately? [33:18]
How does Sarah’s laughter in Genesis 18:12-13 reveal the tension between human doubt and divine assurance? [28:32]
What does the difference between God’s “permissive will” (allowing Ishmael) and “perfect will” (appointing Isaac) teach about trusting His plans? [22:50]
How does the renaming of Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah before Isaac’s birth illustrate God’s authority over identity and destiny? [26:48]

Application questions

What “Ishmaels” (shortcuts or compromises) have you been tempted to create in areas where God’s promise feels delayed? How can you actively choose to wait instead? [23:55]
What tangible reminders (like Abraham’s stars) has God given you to hold onto during a season of waiting? How can you revisit these when doubt arises? [18:05]
In what current situation do you need to declare, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” How might speaking this truth shift your perspective? [30:01]
How can you discern between God’s timing and your own impatience when making decisions about relationships, career, or other major life steps? [32:01]
What areas of your life feel “barren” or impossible right now? How does the resurrection of Jesus (God’s ultimate fulfilled promise) strengthen your hope in those areas? [41:05]
When have you settled for what God “allowed” instead of waiting for what He “appointed”? What steps can you take to realign with His perfect will? [25:01]
How can you encourage someone in your life who feels weary in their waiting? What practical support or biblical truth could you offer them? [08:38]

Sermon Clips

47s

#SilentPromises

“Can I ask you a question this morning? Have you ever looked around at your life and wondered if anything was changing? You prayed but nothing seemed to move. You believe for it but nothing seemed to happen. You obey god but the promise still felt far away. You came to church, you worshiped, you gave, you served, and trusted him. Yet, somehow, it felt like everybody else's blessing was moving while yours stood still. Has anyone ever been there? Ever reached a place where you knew what god said but what you saw didn't match what he spoke.”

39s

#YesWithoutTimeline

“If I have any honest people in the building, some of the hardest moments in our walk with god are not when god says no. The hardest moments, in fact, are when god says, yes, but then makes us wait. The hardest moments come when god gives you a promise but no timeline and if we're not careful, waiting can make us wonder. It can make us worry and question if god really said it but I came to encourage somebody this morning and let you know that just because you don't see it, don't see it yet doesn't mean god isn't working.”

38s

#PromiseWithoutEvidence

“I heard your promise but I don't see any evidence yet. Is there anybody that ever been there that you heard what god said? Somebody told you what god said but you don't see any evidence of it yet. If we could be honest, that's where some of us live. We believe god's promise but we're struggling because we don't see any progress. reassures Abraham and tells him that his servant will not be his heir. Instead, god declares that a son will come for his own body.”

42s

#PatienceForPromise

“You can't let what god allowed cause you to abandon what god intended. Hear me because god's perfect will may require more patience. God's perfect will will require more faith but god's perfect will will always lead to god's best. Now, we get to chapter 17. God shows up again, reaffirms his covenant with Abraham and I need you to see something here though. It is now twenty four years pad that have passed before the original promise. I told you that he was in his seventies. Now, Abraham is 99 years old.”

45s

#FaithBeyondSight

“The promise is still not here yet and isn't that where our faith gets difficult? Faith is easy when you can see it. Faith is easy when you could touch it. Faith is easy when the evidence is right in front of you but faith gets tested when all you have is god's word. The Bible says, Sarah overhears a conversation between Abraham and the lord and god declares that within a year, Sarah will bear forth a son listening from the tent. Sarah laughs to herself not because she was happy, not because she was excited, she laughs because she cannot reconcile god's promise with her present reality.”

45s

#FaithRequiresCourage

“He requires our faith. Amen. The moment, hey, god conceives, everything changes. Tension enters the home, relationship becomes strained, feelings get hurt, confusion takes over, and then Sarah turns around and blames Abraham for the very things he suggested. Isn't that just like life, the step outside of god's will can be the first people to criticize you when it doesn't work out. Yeah. Girl, you ought to try it this way. Bro, you ought to do it this way and when it doesn't work”

56s

#NothingTooHardForGod

“too hard for the lord? Is cancer too hard? Is death too hard? Is healing too hard? Is salvation too hard? Is there anything too hard for the lord and the answer is simply no because that brings me to my first point, god's power knows no limits. Hear me today. God's power knows no limits. The reason nothing is too hard for god is because god power knows no limits. He is outside out. He is god almighty, the creator of heaven and earth. Every sunrise testifies of his power. Every breath we take testifies of his power. Every mountain, every river, every galaxy is evidence that our god”

40s

#GodCanDoIt

“God can make a way out of no way. God can open doors that was shut in your faith. God can do what doctors cannot do. God can do what money cannot do. God can do what education cannot do. God can do what connections cannot do. Can you scream real loud? God can. God can. Because there is still power in our god. There is still authority in his name. There is still possibility in our god and if you're sitting here this morning carrying something that seems impossible,”

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Pastor Everett Johnson This sermon · AI assistant

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God Can: Waiting on God's Promises

Devotional

Day 1: Stars as Reminders of Unseen Promises

Day 2: Ishmael’s Shadow: When We Settle for “Good Enough”

Day 3: Laughter in the Tent: When Doubt Muffles Faith

Day 4: The Appointed Time: Trusting God’s Schedule Over Ours

Day 5: The Empty Tomb: Your Promise Reminder

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

God Can: Waiting on God's Promises

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