"Know of a surety that thy seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs;…they shall afflict them four hundred years;... and afterward they shall come out with great substance" (Gen. 15:12-14)

An assured part of God's pledged blessing to us is delay and suffering. A delay in Abram's own lifetime that seemed to put God's pledge beyond fulfillment was followed by seemingly unendurable delay of Abram's descendants. But it was only a delay: they “came out with great substance.”(Ex.12:36)The pledge was redeemed.

God is going to test me with delays; and with the delays will come suffering, but through it all stands God's pledge: His new covenant with me in Christ, and His inviolable promise of every lesser blessing that I need. The delay and the suffering are part of the promised blessing; let me praise Him for them today; and let me wait on the Lord and be of good courage and He will strengthen my heart.━C. G. Trumbull

Unanswer............