We miss God’s plan for our life when… We Underestimate God’s Power to do the Supernatural.

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar. Genesis 16:1

 

Let me first say that God’s will is never dependent on what we do or do not have at our disposal.  A lot of times, we look at the facts around us and we say, “There is no way God  can do something in this situation. This situation is even too much for God to turn around into good.”  Even though we may not say it aloud… we believe it in our hearts.

Sarah knew that her womb was barren and past child-bearing age. Making matters worse, Abraham was ten years her senior. It had been ten plus years since God had promised them a child.  Evidently, she got to the place where she didn’t believe God could do something supernatural.  She possibly thought, “Well God could have moved if I had just been younger and healthier.”

When Abraham thought that his problem was bigger than God could handle, he decided that it was a good idea to try and help God out. Later in Abraham’s life, God reminded him of this very issue.

 

Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.” Genesis 18:14 (NIV)

 

Is anything too hard or difficult for God?  Of course not.  But how we behave towards God in the middle of our tribulations reveals exactly how much we believe God.

Everyday, it is our behavior which reveals the truth of our beliefs, not our lips. God desires us to possess real integrity towards Him.  It is easy to keep and employ God as the option of last resort. So often it’s only when we come to the end of ourselves that we begin to seek God.  If God doesn’t start opening the doors of opportunity quickly, an internal alarm is triggered and panic arises.  Many begin kicking all available doors to see if God is behind any of them.  We think of God’s delay as being His weakness.  Unfortunately, like the afore-mentioned, we remain clueless to the timing of God.

Sarah and Abraham became frustrated while waiting, so they wrongly concluded, “if God isn’t going to move then we might as well go to plan B, Ishmael.”  Hasn’t  frustration with the apparent “non-activity” of heaven stopped more movements of God in your life than anything else?

You may not be familiar with his name, but a great New England preacher, Phillips Brooks of yesteryear, was noted for his poise and quiet manner. At times, however, he suffered moments of frustration and irritability like most of us. One day a friend saw him pacing the floor like a caged lion. “What’s the trouble, Dr. Brooks?” asked the friend. “The trouble is that I am in a hurry,” said Brooks, “but God isn’t.”  Can you agree?  Haven’t we often felt the same? Brooks was also quoted as saying “The hardest task in my life is to sit down and wait for God to catch up with me.”

Yet patience is part of God’s strategy for maturing us. It’s a lost skill we all need to cultivate.   Frustration is easy.  It allows pride to grow and ultimately reject God’s will and timing. If you are waiting for God to act and wondering what’s taking Him so long, don’t make the mistake Abraham made and rush ahead of God and produce an Ishmael.

 

 

God continually reminds us to stick with the plan and continue to believe. If we don’t believe God can do the supernatural, we will miss His best plan for our life. God doesn’t need our help, especially help gained from Egypt. God wants to do far more than simply answer our prayers.  His will is to answer our prayers and 100 other prayers we didn’t even mention or think about because He loves us.  God may not be early… but He is never late!

 

Blessings,

Pastor