The Firework

I’ve never been a big fan of firework shows. I mean, once you have seen one, you have pretty much seen them all. However, one night I noticed something about them that I hadn’t thought about before. I noticed that the smaller fireworks would shoot up fast and pop almost instantly. But the bigger ones seemed to take forever to rise before they finally lit up the sky. It was almost like the longer it took, the bigger and better it was.

In the book of Genesis, we read the story of Abraham, originally named Abram, who would become one of the most important figures in the Bible. God promised that he would be the father of a great nation and that through his descendants all nations would be blessed (Genesis 12:2–3). However, Abraham didn’t start his journey this way. In fact, in Genesis 11, his father, Terah, was supposed to lead the family from Ur to Canaan. But Terah stopped halfway in Haran and never finished his journey. That detour wasn’t Abraham’s choice, and it forced him to wait, step out in faith later in life, and rely entirely on God’s timing for the promises ahead.

Then God called Abraham to leave Haran, his family, and everything familiar, and go to a land God would show him (Genesis 12:1–4). Abraham obeyed by faith, even though he didn’t know exactly where he was going. As the years passed, Abraham and his wife Sarah grew older, and the promise of a child still hadn’t come.

There were moments of doubt and even times when they tried to take matters into their own hands (read Genesis 16), but God’s plan never failed. When Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 years old, the promise was fulfilled, and Sarah gave birth to Isaac (Genesis 21:1–3). God’s timing was perfect, and it far exceeded anything that Abraham and Sarah could have imagined. The detours, the long wait, and everything outside of their control were worth it.

In a similar way, life can often feel like one big waiting game. Plans get delayed, unexpected challenges appear, and things happen that are outside of our control. Sometimes it feels like the spark that we once had at the beginning of the journey has gone out, almost like we are a firework, stuck in limbo wondering if we will ever reach our full potential.

Today, let the story of Abraham be an encouragement for your faith that God’s promises will always come to pass. The delays, detours, and waiting are part of the process of building something far bigger than we could ask, think, or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). If God spoke it, then nothing can stop it. Just like the biggest fireworks, what God is preparing might take a while, but when it appears, it will be well worth the wait. So be strong, take heart, don’t rush the process, and trust in His perfect timing (Psalm 27:14).

The Bigger Picture: The biggest fireworks take the longest to rise, and God’s best blessings often do too.