1/7/21
"And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai." (Genesis 16:2)
When you get in front of God, and try to lead Him, you can always expect disastrous results!
God promised Abram a family of his own. He told him that his seed would be like the stars in heaven, and like the sand on a sea shore. It would be impossible to count them all.
Abram and Sarai were waiting, expecting a baby to come to them at any time. But time moved slowly, and God tarried in answer to their prayers. Ten years pass, and nothing has happened. Abram was seventy-five years old when God made the promise, and Sarai was ten years younger than him. Add these ten years to their ages, and, well, you can see their concern. It is hard to keep up with a toddler when you're twenty-five years old! But eighty-five? Well, well, well.
God does not move as we want Him to. God moves add His pace, and He is always right on time! When we try to make things happen, or, try to help God, we make a mess of things.
Sarai approaches Abram with this half-baked plan of using Hagar, the Egyptian maid, as a surrogate mother. For many reasons this has disaster written all over it. The main-most reason, it was not God's plan!
Hagar conceives, and Sarai is humiliated and green with jealousy and envy! And it is all Abram's fault! "And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee." (Genesis 16:5)
What a mess!
And it was not going away. It is still a mess, even in our day.
"And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he will dwell in the presence of his brethren." (Genesis 16:12) This is why there is so much unrest in that part of the world.
God has made many promises to the believer, and He will keep each and every promise He has made! What shall we do? We shall wait upon the Lord to keep His word!
If we don't, then we can expect a catastrophic catastrophe of Biblical proportions!
"Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the LORD." (Psalm 27:14)
That's some good advice, right there. If only we would heed it?
From my heart to your heart.