“So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram
was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.”
— Genesis 16:15–16 (NKJV)
The Long Wait and the Quiet Temptation
At the close of Genesis 16, roughly a year passes between the tension of verse one and the
birth of Ishmael. In that year, we see the full spectrum of human experience—frailty,
impatience, conflict, and divine intervention. What we see in the end is indeed a legacy—but
not the legacy of the covenant God promised to Abram. Instead, it is the fulfillment of His
promise to Hagar that closes the chapter.
Eleven years have passed since God first called Abram, and the long stretch of time has
tested faith in ways that immediate blessing never could. Time, when prolonged and
uncertain, can blur our vision. It tempts us to reinterpret divine delay as divine denial, and
in doing so, we begin to settle for something less than the fullness of what God has
promised. Waiting too long for the promise can make any outcome look like
fulfillment—especially when our own efforts begin to bear fruit. Yet it is here, in this subtle
compromise, that we risk building legacies around what is possible rather than what is
promised.
When the Blessing Becomes the Goal
The real danger in Abram and Sarai’s story is not merely impatience—it is displacement.
The desire for the blessing quietly eclipsed their desire for the Blesser. The longer the wait
stretched, the more their vision shifted from the God who promised to the outcome He had
promised.
When our focus moves from God as the reward to the results as the reward, our
stewardship begins to drift. We start shaping our expectations and legacy around what we
can manage, finance, or manipulate, rather than around what only God can bring forth
through faith and obedience. But a promise is only a true blessing when it comes from
Him—when it bears His imprint and arrives in His time. When we no longer see Him as the
reward, then any resemblance of the blessing will do. And that, perhaps, is one of the
greatest pitfalls of legacy building in both spiritual and generational terms: settling for
visible success when God intended lasting significance.
Legacy Stewardship and the Ishmael Illusion
Legacy stewardship planning often focuses on the tangible—the assets, the inheritance, the
measurable impact left behind. But Genesis 16 reveals that legacy is not merely what we
build; it is what we birth in alignment with God’s purpose. Abram’s legacy at this moment
appears to be secured—he has a son, an heir, a visible outcome. Yet, as Scripture will show,
this was not the promised legacy.
When legacy planning is driven by human timelines and self-made solutions, we risk
creating “Ishmaels”—outcomes that look like fulfillment but fall short of divine intention.
These results can carry weight and influence, but they lack the eternal covenant that comes
only through surrender and alignment with God’s plan. True legacy stewardship, therefore,
is not about producing results at all costs. It is about guarding the integrity of the promise
entrusted to us. It is the discipline of waiting with vision, acting with faith, and building with
the understanding that God Himself is the greatest reward.
Reframing Legacy Around the Reward
The lesson of Genesis 16 calls every steward to re-examine what they are truly pursuing.
Legacy is not simply about continuity—it is about communion. It is not sustained by what
we possess but by whom we worship. When we see God as the reward, we refuse to settle
for what looks successful but lacks His presence.
Stewardship, then, becomes an act of devotion rather than strategy. It demands that we ask
ourselves hard questions:
- Am I settling for what I can produce instead of what God has promised?
- Have I mistaken motion for fulfillment?
- Is my legacy shaped by my impatience or by God’s eternal vision?
In every generation, there is the temptation to build an Ishmael—to create something that
satisfies our immediate need for validation, continuity, or control. But only by waiting in
faith can we birth an Isaac—a promise born of the Spirit, not of the flesh.
A Legacy Worth the Wait
As Abram’s story unfolds, God will later reaffirm His covenant and make it clear that His
promise was not forgotten—only delayed until faith and obedience could mature. This truth
anchors legacy stewardship in every age: the promise is only a blessing when it comes from
Him, through Him, and for Him.
When we see Him as the true reward, our stewardship shifts from accumulation to
alignment, from control to trust, from impatience to intimacy. And in that sacred waiting,
we discover that the greatest legacy we can leave is not merely what we build, but whom we
trust while building. And in that sacred waiting, we discover that the greatest legacy we can leave is not merely what we build, but whom we trust while building.
By Christopher L. Walker at myfathersestate.com
Published: November 14th, 2025
