You will need your Bible today.
I am not a patient person. If you knew me personally you might disagree with that statement, but believe me I am not patient. You see God has been working to build patience in me for most of my life. For most of the "big" things in life I have had to wait what feels like a ridculous amount of time for.
I meet my husband when we were 16. He had always planned on going to the Air Force Academy for school then going into the Air Force. For me that meant we could not get married until he finished school. I also could not afford to move to Colorado (nor would my parents allow it) to be near him so it also meant 4 years long distance. I had to wait 5 years to be with him, even though God had made it clear to me within the first year of dating that this was the husband He had chosen for me.
After we got married we decided to wait a few years before starting a family. After 18 months we felt we were ready. Eight years later, after too many doctors, drugs and tears, God made clear to us that conception was not how He planned to form our family. He opened the doors to adoption and my husband and I changed gears accordingly. Its now been 5 years since God changed our course, I am as sure as ever that adoption is His best and perfect plan for us, yet we are still waiting for our first child.
I hate waiting, it doesn't so much get easier the longer you wait, it just becomes routine. At least until something comes up that reminds you of how much you want what you are waiting for, or gives you an 'out' to the pain of waiting. That's when waiting become dangerous, yet that is exactly where God tends to put us. He desires spiritual maturity and that means choosing His way even when that means passing over the 'simple solution' to wait for His perfect plan.
This weeks lesson is very personal to me. I can relate to Abram and Sarai in so many different ways that this story always touches a soft spot in my heart, yet God has also used this story as a warning beacon in my life. Lets pray that we all can learn from Abram and Sarai and choose not to take the 'simple solution.'
Please read Genesis 16:1-16.
It seems like only yesterday we were discussing how great Abram's faith was. Only one chapter before this God had calmed Abram's fears with words of peace and reassurance that He would keep His promises. Abram's faith had been counted as righteousness! Now we see him and Sarai falling into fear and lack of faith and taking matters into their own hands.
We have no way of knowing exactly how much time occurs between Genesis 15 and Genesis 16, it could have been several years, a few months or even a few days (We talked before about how quickly our emotions can move us from the mountaintop to the valley). What we do know is that it had been 10 years since Abram first heard the call of God, received the promises (including many descendants) and moved out of Ur. Abram was now 86 years old and his beautiful wife, Sarai was 76. His fertility may have been waning but hers had long past departed.
Even in our world of modern medicine and science, infertility can be devastating. The pain of wanting something that seems so simple and natural for everyone else can very quickly take your mind and emotions to a very ugly place. The feelings of inadequacy, helplessness, and even judgment play on your mind and can very easily push you to the place of "I will do anything to get what I want."
For Abram and Sarai infertility would have been even harder. Childlessness was seen as a curse from the gods, and they would likely have been looked down upon by the people around them. Their infertility was a very public shame. They also had few options.
While today medicine offers a wide variety of treatments, many of which are often highly effective, Abram and Sarai had only 4 options. Abram could have divorced Sarai and found a fertile wife, or he could have taken a 2nd wife. They could have adopted an heir (which was what Abram was thinking at the beginning of chapter 15) or Sarai could choose a slave to bear a child for her.*
Waiting is so hard, and waiting for something you are emotionally invested in is utterly painful. Infertility might not be something you are struggling with but I have no doubt that you have felt the pain of waiting for something. The struggle of waiting is pretty much universal, and so is wanting to take the easy way out.
For Abram and Sarai using a slave to have a baby was a completely viable option in their culture. God had told Abram that he would have an heir from his own body, when that didn't seem to be working out with his wife , plan B seemed like a rational choice. After all God hadn't said that the baby would be from Sarai's body and she was way too old to hold out hope of conceiving. Having Hagar carry a baby for them seemed like a good compromise. The problem was it wasn't God's choice. The simple solution rarely is.
As painful as it can be to wait, God's will is for us to grow through the pain so that when the waiting is over and we have what we have always wanted we will be just a little bit more like Jesus.
"...We also rejoice in our suffering, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God had poured out his love into our hears by the Holy Spirit, whom he had given us." Romans 5:3 & 4
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4
Whatever you wait for, inevitably there will be a 'simple solution' The human mind is amazing in its ability to rationalize even a the most obviously bad choice when pain is involved. We must be so careful and so prayerful to seek God's will, any other option will only lead to more pain and heartache.
God's plan is not for us to suffer in our waiting, it is to grow. To become spiritually mature. He wants us to rest in Him. To trust Him even when, in our wildest imagination, we can't see what He's going to do. He is likely going to surprise you with a better outcome then you wildest imagination could have ever conceived.
"Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." Psalm 27:14
* Walton, John H. Zondervan Illustarted Bible Backgrounds Commentary Volume 1. Grand Rapids, MI. Zondervan. 2009. pg. 87
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