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 meant 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

jealousy 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.

God 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 too, 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.

What About You?

1. How difficult is it for you to wait and be patient while God

works?

2. While you wait, how can you obey God in what He has

already given you to do?

From God's Garden Tools by Gina Burns