Trying to conceive a child can involve a long wait for some couples where month after month goes by and there is one disappointment after the other. It can take years of trying before being successful. Still for some couples, after continued disappointment and with their window of opportunity quickly diminishing, they begin to consider other options. This is precisely where Sarai felt she was in today's reading:
"Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; so she said to Abram, "The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her." Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. Then Sarai said to Abram, "You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me." "Your slave is in your hands," Abram said. "Do with her whatever you think best." Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her. The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, "Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?" "I'm running away from my mistress Sarai," she answered. Then the angel of the Lord told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her." The angel added, "I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count." The angel of the Lord also said to her: "You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers." She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me." That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered. So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael."
Genesis 16:1-16 NIV
Sarai was ageing fast and still was without a child! She assumed that God had kept her from conceiving and so suggested a kind of surrogate arrangement involving her Egyptian slave Hagar. This was a popular solution for childless couples at that time. The child would be considered to be Abram and Sarai's child. Now while this practice was common at this time, it was stepping out of God's plan, His perfect plan for Abram and Sarai.
Can we expect things to go well when we ignore God's promises and take things into our own hands? Sarai's plan seemed successful in allowing her husband to father a child but she hadn't considered the effect this was going to have on her own feelings or the dynamics of their relationship. Clearly, Sarai would have had regrets as her feelings of inadequacy were magnified by the ease at which Hagar conceived. To make matters worse, Hagar now treated Sarai with contempt!
The situation was definitely complicated! With emotions running high, Sarai blamed Abram, Abram told her to do whatever she pleased, so Sarai treated her servant harshly and Hagar ran away! This certainly doesn't sound like God's plan for Abram and Sarai!
God stepped in and spoke to Hagar asking her to go back to Sarai and submit to her. This must have been a difficult thing to contemplate but God made a promise to Hagar. He gave her child a name, 'Ishmael' and said he would become a great nation. From him would come the Arab nation and while his life would not be easy, God promised to bless him.
When we choose our own way instead of God's way, there are consequences, sometimes much greater than we could have ever imagined! In the case of Abram, Sarai and Hagar, the consequences are still seen today in the hostilities between Arabs and Jews —the result of one decision!
We can be thankful that God stepped in and opened up the way for us to have a new start even while we were still sinners.
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8 NIV
Forgiveness is ours because Jesus died, taking the punishment for all our sins, for all the times we have tried to take matters into our own hands and live apart from God.
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 NIV
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the things You have reminded me of today as I have read Your Word. I choose to keep my eyes on You and to do things Your way instead of my own. May I be guided by Your Word in every area of my life and completely put my trust in You.
"But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you." Psalms 56:3 NLT
"But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me."
Psalms 13:5 NLT
Lord please bring to mind any area of my life where I am attempting to hold back from You, in order to do my own thing...............................................Today I choose to do things Your way!
"You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny." Psalms 73:24 NLT
"He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name."
Psalms 23:3 NLT
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.
"For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see."
Psalms 36:9 NLT
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Light and Life for Today
SpiritualA daily devotional for your time alone with God. In an increasingly dark world, more than ever, we need to look beyond what we can see, past our present circumstances. In order to see the light and experience life as our Heavenly Father intended, I...
