Today’s text for Blogging Through The Bible in 2020 comes from Genesis 16, and the story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar. Genesis 16:2 says, “So Sarai said to Abram, ‘See, now the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.’ And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.”
Abraham and Sarah were still waiting on God to fulfill His promise to them of giving Abraham an heir. However, like many of us today, Abraham and Sarah became impatient. Therefore, they decided to come up with a plan of their own. Another way that we are like Abraham and Sarah in this story is that when things didn’t go well, Sarah blamed Abraham and in a sense, Sarah blamed God for what was going on. We love to blame others for our poor choices don’t we? Instead of being patient and trusting in God’s timing, Abraham and Sarah took matters into their own hands. The results of this disastrous decision are still being felt in the world today, because the conflict in the Middle East largely surrounds the descendants of Ishmael and Isaac. Let this serve as a lesson for us, the decisions that we make don’t just affect us. Our decisions often affect those around us, and they can affect our lives and our families for generations to come.
There is another lesson to be learned here. That lesson is that we need to trust God’s timing and His Word. While it may have seemed like a long time since God made His promise to Abraham, in the context of eternity, it hadn’t been that long. God never said when He was going to give Abraham an heir, He simply promised that He would, and that the heir would help produce many descendants, and that Abraham’s family would be blessed and be a blessing to the world. It’s important that we not try to force God’s hand, or put God on some arbitrary timetable. We instead must learn to trust in God’s timing, because His timing is always right. This is the second time in just the first 16 chapters of the Bible that weak leadership is displayed that results in disastrous consequences. The first of course was Adam not protecting and leading Eve, and the resulting fall of mankind into sin. Here, instead of trusting God’s timing, Abraham gives in to his wife. No, it’s not wrong to listen to your wife. In fact, Scripture would encourage husbands and wives to work together through studying Scripture and praying together when it comes to decisions for themselves, and their family. The issue here is that Abraham listened to Sarah and chose her decision over God’s word. Regardless of who they are, anytime someone’s wisdom goes against God’s Word, we must reject it. So I can I know that I am following God’s will?
If we want to be in God’s will we need to do two things at a minimum. The first thing is, we must pray. When it comes to making a decision, there isn’t always a right or wrong choice. Sometimes, it is a decision between something good and something better. Therefore, when we are praying, we want to pray specifically. If we have a feeling or belief in what we think is right, we could pray something like, Lord, I believe that you are calling me/we to do ___________, is this your will or am I supposed to wait for something better? There isn’t anything magical about those words; rather, it is praying specifically about the decision. The second thing we should do at a minimum is read the Bible. A lot of times, what we “feel” is right is often not what God says is right. Other times, we have made our decision and just want to make it sound spiritual, so we ask God to bless our plans regardless of whether or not He has directed us to do it or not. One of the easiest ways to make sure that we are following God’s will is to be in God’s Word. Prayer is us talking to God about what is on our heart and going on in life, and the Bible is how God talks back to us. Therefore, these two things go hand in hand. When we are opening our mouth in prayer, we should do so with an open Bible in front of us.
The last lesson for us in this text is on leadership. We are a nation and a world that is starving for genuine, godly leadership. In God’s design, that leadership must begin in the home. This mantle has been laid on men. Not because we are somehow better or that women are not capable of leadership. It has to do with the order of creation, and who God gave the responsibility of looking out for Eve at creation (see 1 Tim. 2:9-15). God has called us as men to be loving, compassionate, selfless, sacrificial, and servants for our families. We must strive to know God and to obey Him.
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Justin
God’s plan is always better than our plan.