When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” A.A. Milne,  Winnie-the-Pooh

We have just read in 6:12:

 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. (Emphasis mine).

Years ago, I was asked to give a series of studies on ”the fruit of the Spirit” (Gal.5:22,23). In my preparation, I learned so much. I remember reading Stephen Winward’s excellent book on the subject, published by ‘Inter Varsity Press.’ Writing about ”patience” he said we not only are called to wait on the Lord; we also have to learn to wait for Him. This was the case with Abraham. There was a time lag between the promise and the fulfillment.

Alex Haley was interviewed about his bestselling book ‘Roots’, which was also turned into a blockbusting television series. He was asked what he thought the secret of his success to be. He replied, ”Well, I remember something my grandma used to say: ‘You never know when the Lord’s going to come – but He’s always on time!’