Mr. and Mrs. Abraham celebrated their ten year anniversary into their journey with God with a quiet candlelight dinner, the cradle in the corner of their tent screaming at them still empty. EMPTY! The only thing which could be heard in that room that night was the ticking of Mrs. Abraham's biological clock.
Tick-tock. TICK-TOCK. TICK-TICK-TOCK!!!
The pressure inside the cooker was reaching the boiling point. She MUST do something - anything - to help God out fulfill His promise. Speed up this incredibly slooooow process. Facilitate it by involving others who can supply what they are quickly running out. They must have misread God's will somehow. All along He's been probably expecting them to think outside the box, to take matter into their own hands and get this thing moving (Chapter 16).
Nine months later their Egyptian servant gives birth to a boy. Ishmael. Abraham's son.
It turns out that was not at all what the Lord wanted them to do. He wanted them to trust Him to accomplish His word without their ingenious assistance. It was a painful lesson. Today, we are still paying the dividends of Mr. and Mrs. Abraham's choice.
In fact, today, each of us has exactly the same choice to make - perhaps different circumstances and conditions, but essentially the same choice.
Am I going to force the fulfillment of God's Word with my own strength, power and brilliant strategies?
Or am I going to live a holy life - allowing this unbearable hole inside me to remain... empty - until the Holy Spirit comes and fills it with nothing less but Himself? Am I going to foolishly insist on my own way and my timing or trustfully, restfully surrender to His?
Will I live by the flesh, even the 'good looking' flesh, the logical. the religious, the safe, 'the-God-helps-those-who-help-themselves' flesh?
Or will I wait... and wait... and wait... watching for the wind from above, being on the look-out for the coming of His Spirit... until He comes... no matter how long it takes?
Lord Jesus, we are so impatient, so unacquainted with Your ways of carrying out Your will. In the world of speed and efficiency, strategies and control, You seem painfully slow for us. We want You to get on with our program. You wait for us to turn to You so that we can become the kind of people You need us to be in order to serve Your purposes in this broken world. Empower me, O Lord, to come and keep coming to You, and receive mercy and grace to live life of unshakable faith, unfailing courage and humble dignity which brings glory to Your Name.
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