Don't Be An Abram or Sarai

The Lord spoke to Abram and told him to lift his eyes and look to the north, south, east and west and then God made a promise to Abram. He promised him that 1) All the land which he saw would be his, 2) He would have children, for at this time Abram and Sarai had no children. 3) His seed would be as the dust of the earth so that no man could number it. Genesis 13:14-16 Then in the following scripture we find God again confirms His promise to Abram.

Genesis 15: 4-5; "And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be."

God is not just promising one child but that a great nation is going to come forth from Abram and Sarai. God has given us many promises as well in His word. We need to learn to take them at face value. We have no room for doubt in our life. Doubt will lead us to fear and confusion. It will cause us to have distrust, disbelief, suspicion, hesitation, and uncertainty in our walk with the Lord. When God makes us a promise cling to that promise with everything you have. Believe it with all of your heart.

Genesis 16:1-12 is paraphrased like this; Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children so she gave her handmaid, Hagar, to Abram to wife. She told Abram since the LORD hath restrained her from bearing children to go in unto her handmaid; it may be that she may obtain children by her. So Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. He went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

*NOTE* When we try to bring things to pass in our own way, all it does is cause problems. God made a promise to Abram and Sarai. God's promises are true. He will bring it to pass IN HIS OWN TIME. Our time is not God's time. We must remember this and not grow impatient. When Sarai took things into her own hands and Abram listened to her, all they did was conceive havoc.

And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.

*NOTE* Now we have jealousy between Sarai and the maid. This was brought on because instead of waiting for God to fulfill HIS promise in HIS time, they tried to bring it about in their own way. They did not trust God to fulfill His own promise. Go figure! Is not God - GOD?

So now we have Hagar, the maid, sitting by a fountain of water in the wilderness. An Angel of the Lord finds her and says to her, "whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands." Then he goes on to tell her that He will multiply her seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."

There is conflict between these two nations today. When we do not wait upon the Lord we can take what is meant for a great blessing and sometimes turn it into a great conflict. Let me learn to trust you and know that you have all things under control and that You know just when to fulfill your promises in my life. Teach me Lord, To Wait.

After all that went awry in Abram and Sarai's life, God did not abandon them. He knew their hearts and kept His promise to them. We find God coming to Abram once again in Genesis 17: 5 "Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee."

"And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Genesis 17:15-16

Then we find in Genesis 18: 9-14 that the Angel of the Lord pays Abraham and Sarah a visit one more time.

"And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son."

By now Abraham and Sarah are both old. Way past the age of child bearing, yet the Lord says that He is going to bring forth that promise AT THE APPOINTED TIME. (Genesis 18: 14) and He does:

Genesis 21: 1-3 "And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac."

If you took on His Name when you were baptized then you went through a name change just like Abraham and Sarah did. God has made you many promises just like He made them. When God makes you a promise and you begin to have doubts, remember what He said to Abraham in Genesis 18: 14: "Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will..." Don't take things into your own hands and try to bring them to pass. Let God Unfold The Rose. When the Lord does it, he does it right and He is always on time. We must remember that God keeps His promises.