TRUST IN THE LORD
with all your heart & lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.
~Proverbs 3:5-6
So often we say, or even think, we trust in the Lord, but when things don’t work out the way we want, or an answer to prayer is taking longer to arrive than we’d hoped for, how faithful are we to wait on His timing? To trust the Lord is working all things for the good of those who love Him & are called according to His purpose [Romans 8:28]?
Take Abraham & Sarah as an example — they were given a promise: Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” [Genesis 15:4]
The Lord spoke directly to Abraham & Sarah about His plans for them, and yet, when the fulfillment of God’s promise took longer than expected (or wanted), how did they respond?
“Now Sarai (Sarah), Abram’s (Abraham’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]
They took matters into their own hands, their own strength, and Sarah had her husband sleep with her servant resulting in the birth of Ishmael.
How often do we respond in this same way, taking matters into our own hands & strength, when the season of waiting is longer than we expect or want? When the answer we hoped for isn’t coming to us or being fulfilled? Or the possibility of what we’re hoping for is seemingly impossible? How often do we take matters into our own hands & strength and birth an Ishmael into our lives?
The Lord was clear about His plans for Abraham & Sarah. But in their human minds, they couldn’t see how God would fulfill His promise. And instead of waiting & trusting in the Lord for His timing and His ways, they figured out a way to manifest it themselves.
The Lord said, “I will be sure to return to you at this time next year. And your wife Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old. They had lived many years. The way of women had stopped for Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “Will I have this joy after my husband and I have grown old?” Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘How can I give birth to a child when I am so old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” But Sarah said, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.” [Genesis 18:10-15]
When we doubt God, we are no longer pleasing to Him — “And without trusting, it is impossible to be well pleasing to God, because whoever approaches Him must trust that He does exist and that He becomes a Rewarder to those who seek Him out. [Hebrews 11:6]
What was the result of doubt in the lives of Abraham & Sarah? Once Hagar, Sarah’s servant, conceived & birthed a child, Sarah grew bitter and jealous and even became angry at her husband for doing what she told him to do.
But Sarah saw Ishmael—the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar—making fun of her son, Isaac. So she turned to Abraham and demanded, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son. He is not going to share the inheritance with my son, Isaac. I won’t have it!” [Genesis 21:9-10]
When we take matters into our strength, we are taking action from a place of doubt which means it is impossible to be well pleasing to the Lord. And as a result of doing so, we then live with the consequences of our free will, and birth an Ishmael into our lives.
When are we going to reach a point when we stop trusting in our own thoughts, logic, and plans and begin to fully trust and surrender to the Lord’s?
The Lord is faithful to deliver on His promises — He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion" [Philippians 1:6].
The next time doubt takes hold of your mind, take that thought captive and bring it to the obedience of Christ [2 Corinthians 10:5]. Tell doubt to leave your mind & ask your Father to speak His truth into its place. Let us stop doubting and birthing Ishmael’s into our lives as we await on His timing for the promise of our Isaac.
Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge" [Psalm 62:8].
Reaching the end of our own strength is the real battle; turning to God and trusting Him for every step of our walk, and actually walking with Him every step of the way, is the real victory! "Apart from Me you can do nothing" [John 15:5].
From His heart, to mine, to yours —
Amanda Mercer
