Pray First

Read: Genesis 16

In the last devotional, we learned to be willing to go when God says go. Today we put on the breaks as we learn to be patient and wait on God. 

Patience is a virtue. The best things in life are worth waiting for. These are two common sentiments that remind us that waiting is hard. Yet we live in such a push button world that patience is rarely needed. We can have groceries delivered in a few hours. We can sit in our favorite chair and order new clothes, new furniture, books, gifts, and just about anything we can think of. And it’s delivered in a matter of days. 

With so much information readily available at our fingertips we can tap out a few questions and have all the answers in no time at all. College students are no longer confined to the Dewey Decimal System to help with research on a paper. They can wrap that up in a matter of hours. We can quickly find all we need to know to plan a trip, cook a meal, or make a self-diagnosis.

Even with all this information available without waiting, we still need patience to wait for the best things. Finding a date on an app may be quick, but to develop that relationship still takes time and patience. Most of us know the pain of waiting for God to give guidance, heal sickness, open a door to a career path, or to lead us out of a dark place and into His marvelous light.  And dear Sarai, Abram’s wife, was no different. 

God had told Abram he would be the father of many children, a whole nation full. Yet Sarai had been unable to bear any children. Losing her patience with God, Sarai devised her own plan using her servant Hagar. Sharing it with Abram she said, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her,” (Gen 16: 2 ESV). 

Why in the world would Sarai give her husband to another woman? I suppose she was trying to help God keep his promise to make Abram a father of many nations. Sarai and Abram were really old and if God didn’t get on with it, it was going to be too late, right? She was the wife of Abram, the one and only to whom God had promised a gaggle of kids. Poor Sarai; she was old and barren. How was God’s promise to her husband going to come to fruition if his very own wife could not have kids?  Maybe God could use some help.  

Can you see how logically Sarai came to her decision to give her servant to Abram?  Sarai was part of a culture that allowed men to have more than one wife. So she gave in to the cultural norm, thinking maybe God meant it to be this way. Honestly, Sarai and Abram both knew God’s intent from the beginning was one man married to one woman, and having relations only with each other. Just because culture changes and people progressively follow their own logic does not mean God has changed His plan or His ways. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts,” (Is 55: 8-9 ESV). 

I’ve often dissed Sarai for not just waiting on God as she contemplated the unthinkable. But oh my, let me get the plank out of my own eye first and offer her some compassion, instead of judgement. She was hurting. God had promised to make her husband a father of many nations.  Yet she herself had not received the promise that she would be the mother. Sarai knew she couldn’t have children. How painful this must have been for her.  

Sarai presented her idea to Abram and he made no objections. While the pagan culture in Canaan, where they sojourned, may have allowed multiple wives, especially if one could not conceive, it was still not the plan of God. Abram should have lovingly held Sarai in his arms and told her, “Honey, I know it’s hard to be patient, but let’s trust God’s promises. I love God and I love you too much to try this on our own.” But he didn’t. 

So they gave in to their unbelief and their impatience, and Hagaar conceived a child with Abram. The problem with sin is that it always breeds unexpected consequences. Anger, hurt, and strife hit the Abram household. Hagar began to despise Sarai and think herself better because she conceived and Sarai could not. Sarai dealt harshly with Hagar so that she ran away. 

But God moved! 

While we can’t understand God’s timing, we can know that His timing is perfect and His plan is perfect. He sees what we can’t see. And he redeems us when we sin. He saw Hagar as she ran from Abram and Sarai. He came to her and told her that He would provide for her and bless her with many children. “So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, ‘You are a God of seeing…truly here I have seen him who looks after me,’” (Gen 16: 13 ESV). Whatever you’re going through, God sees you. 

And He redeemed Abram and Sarai, changing Abram’s name to Abraham, the father of a multitude of nations. And he blessed Sarai calling her Sarah, who would be the mother of the many sons of Abraham. “I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her,” (Gen  17:16 ESV). Whatever you’ve done, God can redeem you. 

We often get out ahead of God’s plan and do things our own way. We give into cultural norms without testing them against God’s word. We jump before praying. When we step out ahead of God, like Sarah and Abramham did, and find ourselves in a mess because of our sin, that doesn’t mean we are condemned for life. God redeems and cleanses our unrighteousness. In fact, He sent his son Jesus to bear the cost for our sin so that we could be made righteous.  We just have to run back to Him, confess our sin, and trust Him again, and again.  

Sarah suffered the consequences of her impatience. But God kept His promise to her and Abraham.  When we sin, that doesn’t stop God from working in our lives. I know Sarah regretted her decision to give Hagar to Abraham. But God let her begin again. He didn’t cast her aside. He made her a mother of nations and kings.

What are you waiting on God to do in your life, or the life of a loved one? Keep praying while you wait. Worship Him while you wait. And look for ways to serve Him while you wait. But when you mess up, know that God can redeem ANY sin, any mistake and help you begin again! Run back to Him! 

Worship Song:  “While I’m Waiting” by  John Waller

 

Find Tracy on Facebook at Tracy Fields Todd, Writer, and on Instagram at @tracyftodd.