The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 16:1-2,
"Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; so she said to Abram, 'The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.' Abram agreed to what Sarai said."
Abram and Sarai were growing old. The Lord promised Abram offspring, more than the stars in the heavens. And yet, they were growing old and Sarai was suffering the humiliation (in that culture) of not bearing any child. How could Abram say that the Lord was blessing him when no child was born to them? So they resorted to the custom of the day in that culture in having Sarai's maidservant step in to bear a child for Abram.
God's promises are always certain, but often his timing is not our timing. Abram and Sarai chose to pursue God's promise by using Hagar.
But God's promise would be fulfilled in Sarai bearing a son for Abram. Abram will be about a hundred years old before Isaac is born to them.
The difference it makes when we wait for God's promise, as opposed to rushing ahead on our own, can be stark. When God fulfilled his promise to Abram the result was a people through whom God would speak to the world and through whom Jesus Christ entered the human race and gave his life that we might live.
When Abram and Sarai attempted to fulfill God's promise their way, in their time, it resulted in the birth of Ishmael, whom the Arabs look to as their progenitor. The fallout from their effort is still with us as we look at the problems in the Mideast of our day.
As I read the account, I am struck with the thought that when we wait for God to fulfill his promises it results in that which reflects God himself. When we attempt to fulfill those promises on our own it reflects something else.
Abram and Sarai were growing old. The Lord promised Abram offspring, more than the stars in the heavens. And yet, they were growing old and Sarai was suffering the humiliation (in that culture) of not bearing any child. How could Abram say that the Lord was blessing him when no child was born to them? So they resorted to the custom of the day in that culture in having Sarai's maidservant step in to bear a child for Abram.
God's promises are always certain, but often his timing is not our timing. Abram and Sarai chose to pursue God's promise by using Hagar.
But God's promise would be fulfilled in Sarai bearing a son for Abram. Abram will be about a hundred years old before Isaac is born to them.
The difference it makes when we wait for God's promise, as opposed to rushing ahead on our own, can be stark. When God fulfilled his promise to Abram the result was a people through whom God would speak to the world and through whom Jesus Christ entered the human race and gave his life that we might live.
When Abram and Sarai attempted to fulfill God's promise their way, in their time, it resulted in the birth of Ishmael, whom the Arabs look to as their progenitor. The fallout from their effort is still with us as we look at the problems in the Mideast of our day.
As I read the account, I am struck with the thought that when we wait for God to fulfill his promises it results in that which reflects God himself. When we attempt to fulfill those promises on our own it reflects something else.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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