Today begins a 3-day devo series on lessons learned from Abram/Abraham…This was originally a one devo idea, but every time I wanted to pen it, I had a new way of looking at things…so here we go…3 days on Abraham.
As we discussed yesterday, sometimes, I believe God waits on us. He waits to include us in what He is doing. Today, I want to discuss the times that we need to wait on Him. If He is kind enough, as God of all that exists, to wait on us, then we must also learn to wait on Him. Take a look at this…
Now, Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. So, Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps, I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal. Genesis 16:1-2
I’ve read this story hundreds of times, but you know how Holy Spirit sometimes allows things to hit a little different? This time what kept leaping off the page was this, “So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children.”
Wait a minute?! Immediately, I thought, didn’t God already promise Abram a legacy?! So I looked back at Genesis 12:2 and lo and behold, here it is. “I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.”
God had previously promised to make Abram into a great nation. That to me, indicates him having a family line of his own, right?
Then God began to show me the audacity of Sarai’s words and actions. She had literally accused God of denying her/Abram what He had promised to them. She blamed Him for the waiting. I think I’ll let that rest on you spirit for just a second. Wow. Big time conviction flooded over me as I wondered how often I had been guilty of the same thing.
Then I remembered a recent conversation I had with someone, and they had said, “Well, God promised me (such and such) and it still hasn’t happened.” I remember when they spoke this, that I was aghast at the tone of accusation in their voice. They wanted that bit of fame and influence God had promised, and as their later actions revealed, that promise was far more important to them than an actual relationship with God. It makes me step back and re-assess my view of many leaders I’ve seen or been in close proximity with. I wonder if I’ve ever held God’s promise over Him in such a bold way. A way that completely invalidates the process, and the wisdom of His timing. Self-promotion is a dangerous animal.
Today is a heavy lesson, I know. But that doesn’t mean it should be avoided.
My objective today is that you would take an honest assessment of your own life. Are there things God has promised you that have not yet been fulfilled, or are there places where you have taken matters into your own hands, out of impatience?
Sarai regretted taking herself out of God’s timing. In fact, we all still live under the effects of her actions, don’t we? A whole nation came from Ishmael, and that nation has been challenging. Tomorrow, we will discuss where we go from here, but today is a moment for revelation and repentance.
Have you made this mistake of impatience? If so, take time now and repent to God. Ask Him to redeem your out of turn actions, and make them beautiful in His time. If you’ve been angry with God because of, as of yet, unfulfilled promises from God, then take this time to repent of that and hand it all over to Him again. Thank Him for His goodness and perfect timing. Thank Him for using this wait to develop deeper character in your heart and mind. He doesn’t withhold to taunt. He’s always using every moment for our good. Now that’s a promise to hold onto.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11
365 Days in the Presence 