(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)
Funny,
when things didn’t work out just like Sarai wanted them to and Hagar despised
her after she became pregnant; that Sarai’s comment to Abram was “this is all
your fault.”
The
whole scheme of using Hagar as a concubine to give Abram a son to fulfill the
prophecy because Sarai had passed the years of child bearing had been Sarai’s idea; but now it was Abram’s
fault!
Well,
guess what? It was!
This was basically the same scenario that Adam and Eve had in the Garden of Eden when the woman came up with a plan that was not the plan of God and the man said “OK, Let’s do it.”
This was basically the same scenario that Adam and Eve had in the Garden of Eden when the woman came up with a plan that was not the plan of God and the man said “OK, Let’s do it.”
Just as Adam did not consult God as he ate of
the tree, neither did Abram consult God when Sarai gave him a plan that
involved her handmaiden. The end results
both times brought uncomfortable consequences that had to be dealt with. Isn’t this just the way of the world? Both times the man could have consulted God
and made a different decision. Abram
could have refused Sarai’s offer of her concubine, but you never hear of him making one argument against it.
Women
look to men to be their leaders but sometimes men forget to lead. That is when things, no matter how equally
guilty the woman is by presenting wrong and impatient plans and ideas, become
the fault of the man. If a man is totally tuned in to God and
following His exact will, the woman living with him will always be better off
in the long run because he will not make unwise decisions without consulting God in prayer. This may bother a woman for a short while, but in the end she will find herself praising God for it.
This quality in a man requires strength and wisdom and patience. Every man alive should be praying for these three godly traits. Every woman married to a man should be asking God to grant these special qualities to her husband. Every unmarried woman should look for this in a husband, and every single man should develop these characteristics in his personality before he takes marriage vows.
That God intended for men to be leaders is a serious charge and it is not to be taken lightly. Does this put the woman underneath the man? Certainly not, Sarai and Abram led together, side by side, not one over another.
This quality in a man requires strength and wisdom and patience. Every man alive should be praying for these three godly traits. Every woman married to a man should be asking God to grant these special qualities to her husband. Every unmarried woman should look for this in a husband, and every single man should develop these characteristics in his personality before he takes marriage vows.
That God intended for men to be leaders is a serious charge and it is not to be taken lightly. Does this put the woman underneath the man? Certainly not, Sarai and Abram led together, side by side, not one over another.
As we
have seen over and over Sarai and Abram were only human just like all the rest
of us. They made their share of
mistakes. They had developed very godly
traits early on, but slipped up as they grew older and accidentally
set them aside in their old age in their impatience to see the promises of God fulfilled in their lifetime.
Age should make one wiser and more patient, not weaker and less patient. If the eyes are focused on God, this will be the case; but if you look away, even for a split second, it is easy to begin to operate in the flesh.
As people age they often lose their focus and grow weak simply because they are looking at their age and their flesh instead of looking at God and how timeless He is. The enemy of God looks for us to hit these weak points of time in life and then tries to break down our testimonies and destroy them by making us think we must hurry and do some things ourselves instead of waiting on God's timing.
As we all grow older we must carefully seek for God to strengthen our focus and will-power to live kingdom lives and not be listening to the wrong voices that will present themselves to us and try to trap us into bad decisions and circumstances because we suddenly find ourselves aging. Now, more than ever, it is important to keep our faith in God's ability to bring about the right and perfect plans for our lives.
Age should make one wiser and more patient, not weaker and less patient. If the eyes are focused on God, this will be the case; but if you look away, even for a split second, it is easy to begin to operate in the flesh.
As people age they often lose their focus and grow weak simply because they are looking at their age and their flesh instead of looking at God and how timeless He is. The enemy of God looks for us to hit these weak points of time in life and then tries to break down our testimonies and destroy them by making us think we must hurry and do some things ourselves instead of waiting on God's timing.
As we all grow older we must carefully seek for God to strengthen our focus and will-power to live kingdom lives and not be listening to the wrong voices that will present themselves to us and try to trap us into bad decisions and circumstances because we suddenly find ourselves aging. Now, more than ever, it is important to keep our faith in God's ability to bring about the right and perfect plans for our lives.
So why
didn’t God just walk away from Abram and Sarai when they forgot to wait on His
plan and follow His will? God had made
an unconditional covenant with Abram.
God always keeps His promises and He never breaks His covenants.
It is the same for us as we live under the covenant of the New Testament in Christ Jesus today. We too, from time to time, will forget to follow God and we too will make our own mistakes; but God has given us an unconditional blood covenant as His people, and He will alway honor it.
Just like Abram and Sarai, We will always have to live with the bad circumstances we create for ourselves when we sin, but God will never desert those who have given their lives to Him. He will always see us through even the hardest of times, even when we make mistakes and try to change His plans for us. We may take a detour in the plan, but He will bring us back on track in our journey and if we follow Him we will always find our way back home.
.
It is the same for us as we live under the covenant of the New Testament in Christ Jesus today. We too, from time to time, will forget to follow God and we too will make our own mistakes; but God has given us an unconditional blood covenant as His people, and He will alway honor it.
Just like Abram and Sarai, We will always have to live with the bad circumstances we create for ourselves when we sin, but God will never desert those who have given their lives to Him. He will always see us through even the hardest of times, even when we make mistakes and try to change His plans for us. We may take a detour in the plan, but He will bring us back on track in our journey and if we follow Him we will always find our way back home.
.