January 5th

Genesis 15:1-17:27

We covered everything pertaining to covenants and kids! Included were some unfortunate animals, a flaming torch, a smoking oven, two name changes, a whole host of stars, a freaky forced marriage, and circumcision for the whole camp! Wow, that’s quite a day!

In essence, God made a covenant with Abram, whose name is now Abraham, a promise to bless him with countless descendants. However, in order to do that, God would have to bring them about one at a time, starting with Abraham’s first child; but, something went wrong. Although Abraham knew God’s promises, it was a bad idea for him to presume upon God’s timing and method. He and his wife Sarah laid out a plan that simply backfired.

Anytime we presume upon God’s timing or methods, we are asking for trouble. Abraham and Sarah knew God’s intentions; He told them what they were, but they could not wait. However, we must remember that God doesn’t work by our ways, with our means, or on our timetable. As a result of their impatience and presumption, they forced a way that hurt everyone involved. The Bible says that “Hagar was despised,” that Sarah “treated her harshly,” that Hagar “fled from their presence,” and that Ishmael would be a “wild donkey of a man, whose hand would be against everyone.”

No doubt, one of the most difficult things to do in our hurried lives is to wait for anything, especially to wait on the Lord, but that’s exactly what we need to do — hurry up and wait. We must be patient and wait on the Lord, wait for Him to move and open or close doors, wait for Him to provide, to make a way, or to lead us in the next step. God is always on time. He is never late.

Daily Reflection

Think of some times in your own life when you ran ahead of God, took matters into your own hands, and messed up. What did you learn in your impatience?