Genesis
16:2
Cleanse
Your Mind
Father,
waiting on Your timing can be a challenging endeavor. Although
You have given us Your Word, the gap between the promise and
its fulfillment can become unbearable and appear impossible
to bridge. Give me the courage to continue. Lord, allow me to
look beyond my circumstances and keep my mind focused on Your
promise. Teach me to walk by faith not by sight.
Hear
God’s Word
One
of the most widely known promises of the Bible is the one God
gave to Abram and Sarai. Although they were far beyond the childbearing
years God promised them a son. Since we know the end of the story
we have a tendency to glamorize it without investigating the struggle
they encountered in believing this promise.
In
Genesis 16:2 Sarai says to Abram, “Now behold, the Lord
has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid;
perhaps I shall obtain children through her.” Sarai
had to live with the constant reminder of her barrenness month
after month. Her own emotional pain probably created an atmosphere
of defeat in their home.
Although
God had promised the couple a child, each day seemed to push this
reality further and further beyond their reach. The distance separating
the promise and its fulfillment appeared to be too great. Sarai’s
impatience with God finally reached a climax and as some might
agree, rightly so. She allowed her impatience to weaken her faith,
and resolved to take matters into her own hands.
Analyze
Your Status
Is
there a promise God is challenging you to accept by faith? Are
you growing weary of waiting? Do you find yourself overcome by
impatience each day the promise remains unfulfilled? Faith is
an exercise of trust--trusting in what God has promised.
Impatience
increases as our trust in God diminishes. It finds a foothold
in our lives when we allow worldly circumstances to deny the validity
of God’s promise. In this case Sarai knew, even when God
gave her and Abram the promise, that she was beyond childbearing
years but to wait another twenty or more years would challenge
anyone’s patience. Some of us have a difficult time waiting
a week, much less twenty-five years.
Neutralize
Your Obstacles
How
can we remain faithful as we face these pressing circumstances?
We must begin by acknowledging that the most basic element of
faith is trust. Where we place our trust determines how we will
respond to our circumstances.
Genesis
16:2 says, “And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.”
Sarai listened to the voice of logic and experience while Abram
listened to the voice of his wife. Each of these voices took priority
over God’s promise, although God had specifically told Abram
that the heir of his household would come from his body (Genesis
15:4).
For
Sarai the logical path caused her to believe their heir would
be from Abram’s seed, not hers. She therefore assumed God
expected her to take matters into her own hands and give her husband
permission to sleep with her maid. The road which logic takes
when challenged by an unfulfilled promise from God appears right
in the beginning, but it always leads us away from God’s
best. Where you put your trust in the midst of life’s circumstances,
will determine the plans you accept and the actions you take.
Glean
God’s Promises
The
prophet Habakkuk received a word from God that remains practical
and relevant for all who seek to patiently wait on the fulfillment
of God’s promises. “For the vision is yet for the
appointed time; it hastens toward the goal, and it will not fail.
Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it
will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:3).
This
promise to God’s prophet is practical because it applies
to every promise God has given. Just like He promised Jacob, God
Himself will make sure all He has said comes to pass (Genesis
28:15). Only God’s plans, not ours, will remain forever
(Psalm 33:11). Although the challenges we face are just as intense
as what Abram and Sarai encountered, we must learn from their
mistakes. Trust God fully until He turns your faith to sight.
Expedite
Your Decision
Impatience
has robbed many people of the fulfillment of God’s promises
in their lives. If we are trusting by faith in a promise God has
given, we must not let impatience steal His blessing. By taking
our eyes off our circumstances we are able to focus more clearly
on God who can do everything He has promised.
God’s
supernatural power transcends our logic and our finite understanding.
Remember “that with the Lord one day is as a thousand
years and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8).
Therefore, He is not concerned by our worldly deadlines. You might
pray that the latter would be true in your situation!
Study
Helps:
1.
How does impatience hinder us in our journey of faith?
2.
When do you find it most difficult to believe God’s promises?
3.
What promise has God given you today to help you overcome impatience?
