God's Timing or Mine?

One trait about myself that I wish I didn’t have is my impatience to wait on things.

At Christmas or on my birthday it drives me nuts to know there is a present somewhere in the house for me, and either I can’t find it or if I do it’s already wrapped! There have been times when I have searched and found gifts my husband has gotten for me, and I just couldn’t stand it, and I peeked!

In doing so, my impatience ruined the surprise for me, and I ruined it for my husband. Even though he didn’t know I peeked my reaction was not what it should have been for him. I couldn’t just be satisfied knowing there was a gift promised to me. I took control into my own hands and did what I wanted because I couldn’t wait, and because of that I ruined it.

There are times when the Lord tells us something, and because we’re tired of waiting, we take control into our own hands. The story of Abraham and his wife is a story like this very illustration.

The Lord told Abraham in Genesis 15:4-5, “Then the word of the LORD came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.”

Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

The Lord was telling Abraham in this passage that He was going to bless him with a son and that his descendants would be more than the number of the stars in the sky.

Now, the Bible does not specifically say that Abraham’s wife Sarah would be giving birth to a child. Although, given the fact that they were married it would make sense that the Lord was meaning the two of them together would bear children.

One also needs to remember that this was not the first conversation God and Abraham had.

Back in Genesis 12 God told him to leave his country when he was seventy-five years old, and he did. So, he must have believed and trusted in God or he would not have left. There are a few more conversations up to this point that he and the Lord had together, and one could say that he trusted in the Lord and obviously knew God’s voice.

Look now in Genesis 16:1-6. The word of God tells us that Sarah felt that the Lord had prevented her from having children, so she decided to take matters into her own hands. She went to Abraham and said these words,

“The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.” And Abraham listened to the voice of Sarah.

In Genesis 16:3-4 we also read, “So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarah 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.”

The Lord then tells Abraham in chapter 17 that he and Sarah are going to have a child together and Abraham can’t believe this. He says he’s too old at one hundred years old and Sarah at ninety years old. Abraham tells his wife what God said, and she just starts laughing. She doesn’t believe it for a minute.

God then asks Abraham, “Why did she laugh – is there anything too difficult for the Lord?” Well, the story ends with Sarah conceiving and giving birth to their son whom they named Isaac.

Imagine Sarah having to wait that long in life to have a child, and at that age. The Lord was faithful to His promise to Abraham in the end.

If Abraham would have just trusted that God was going to give him a child (through his marriage to Sarah) and waited, a lot of hurt could have been avoided. Think of the pain caused by this decision.

I don’t know any woman who would willingly let her husband do this sort of thing. Think of the jealously and bitterness it would cause and did cause for Sarah and Hagar. Sarah desperately wanted children, as I’m sure Abraham did.

To them, this seemed like the only possible way and they chose it. They chose it out of desperation, and that choice caused a lot of pain for a lot of people.

There are several things to learn from this story.

1. Trust in the Lord 100% all the time. It doesn’t matter what things appear to be – trust what He has said to you.

2. Do not take matters into your own hands because you are tired of waiting for the promise to come to pass. There are always repercussions to others and to us when we do this. Seek His ways not your own ways.

3. Be in constant communication with the Lord. Listen when He speaks to you because you need His instruction, and obey whatever He tells you.

4. The Lord is faithful 100% of the time. When He tells you something, it will come to pass. You may not know when or how but it will happen

Abraham had to wait twenty-five years for Isaac, but the Lord also blessed him with seventy-five additional years with his son, because he lived to be one hundred seventy-five years old.

Now maybe you’re thinking, “Well that’s great for Abraham, because he had heard the Lord’s promise but what has God told me?”

God’s word to us has an answer for every question or problem we could ever have. If it’s about marriage, finances, children, or friendships there is a word in the Bible for you.

So, He does have a word and a promise for every situation that we face. There is nothing you face that God does not have an answer for. Whatever you are believing God for, trust me, He will bring it to pass.

Do not get discouraged when the manifestation of the answer isn’t coming as fast as you want it to. He knows the perfect timing for every situation, and He won’t let you down. Sometimes we can tire of waiting and take matters into our own hands, and then we end up regretting it later.

We’ll look back and say to ourselves, “I wish I would have just trusted and believed in God instead of taking it in my own hands. What a mess I’m in now.”

When the Lord tells us something, we need to be patient and give it all to Him. We can trust and absolutely believe Him no matter how things look. He is on our side and His intention is not to tease us, it’s to teach us.

Sometimes the result doesn’t come when we want it to, but God hasn’t left us. He’s still there teaching us things. Maybe the answer hasn’t come to full manifestation because there are things we need to learn first.

We are to always seek and believe God no matter how long it takes. We are to always remember that He knows better than us what is best for us and when we need it. He doesn’t need our hands involved messing with His divine plans.

After all, He is God and we’re not.