Corona Devo 163
Some of us are tired of waiting. Others of us are becoming irate with the wait.
The interesting thing is that although most of us are waiting for the same general things to occur in our lives (normal school/work/news reports), we each also have unique waiting-situations and people that threaten our day-to-day peace of mind as well.
We want to grip the steering wheel of life and stomp our foot on the gas. The wait is weighing on us, and it is really heavy on some of our families.
I have no personal words of wisdom, but God does. It's no coincidence that today's verses remind us of others who pushed-the-envelope/Who took-the-bull-by-the-horns/Who forced-things...and then they regretted it. God has a plan for our lives. The excruciating thing is that He takes His own sweet (Sovereign/All-Knowing) time in rolling it out. God's timing is different than ours, but it is also better than ours. He is doing things in us, in our families, in our hearts and in our faith as we wait.
Ready for a bold (Biblical) example of someone who pushed forward in her own way, instead of waiting on God's timing? Her situation was different than ours, but she was sick of waiting and she took matters into her own hands. (Can you relate?) I am not sure about your track-record, but things never end well when they are pushed into motion by me and not God.
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. 2 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. 3 So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.) 4 So Abram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. ~Genesis 16:1-4
God had promised Abram many descendants, but after 10 years in Canaan, nothing had happened. (Have any of us been waiting 10 years? Perhaps that can give us perspective in our current "wait".)
So, (like many of us head-strong women), Sarai devised her own plan to "fix things". And even just reading these verses is difficult: I cannot imagine how awful it must have been to live them out. The emotions, the pride, the hurt and self-planned-adultery. Terrible.
Please don't miss this--They could have waited on God. We can wait on God. When we take matters into our own hands, we make our own messes.
But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “This is all your fault! I put my servant into your arms, but now that she’s pregnant she treats me with contempt. The Lord will show who’s wrong—you or me!” 6 Abram replied, “Look, she is your servant, so deal with her as you see fit.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away. ~Genesis 16:4-6
It's such a mess, isn't it? Of course emotions ran high in such an intimate "situation".
I feel a strong reminder and challenge to us as Christian wives to realize the influence that we have over our husbands, and to use it in wise and Godly ways. Eve used her influence over Adam to get him to eat the apple, and he did. Sarai told Abram to sleep with Hagar, and he did (then she got mad at him for it!). These things only caused strife in their marriages and homes. I can relate. I have done the same when trying to do-things-on-my-own-terms, or to "hurry-up" a decision or situation. But things never end well when they are pushed into motion by me and not God.
Ladies, we have an emotional, spiritual, and physical influence over our husbands. How are we following God and honoring God with that influence today? Following our own stinking-thinking will bring sin and downfall each time. But if our minds and hearts are grounded in God (even during the wait, then our actions and influences on our husbands and others will be also.
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7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur. 8 The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai,” she replied. 9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.” 10 Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.” 11 And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress...13 Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” ~Genesis 16:7-11, 13
This are some of my favorite verses in the Bible! God pursues Hagar (via an angel), and He finds Hagar in the wilderness. Are any of us lost in the wilderness-of-wait right now? Stuck in a situation that we are not sure how we got into? People around us are upset, perhaps blaming us? We literally do not know what to do.
That was Hagar. God saw her, and He gave her direction in her situation. He told her not to runaway from the situation, but to go back into it and to be patient. God is giving us the same advice and reassurance today.
Maybe each of us can picture the "wait" that we are in the middle of today of as a proverbial "baby" and we can name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress.
Hagar's interaction with God is a reminder, a consolation, a comfort and a testimony that God hears us and He sees us. You are the God who sees me. ~Genesis 16:13
In the wait. In the crazy. In the relationship nightmares, that we often have a hand in creating. He sees us.
Does it change anything about the "wait" to know that God sees you today?
I pray that it changes everything.
Blessings,
Sarah
https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com
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