Trust

Genesis 16:1-2 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children from him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal.

And so it began, the endless enmity between groups of my children. It began because Sarai did not trust my promise. It began because she decided that I was not going to allow her to conceive her own child, even though I had promised Abram descendants. She grew tired of waiting and took matters into her own hands. And Abram, hoping to please his wife, agreed and went directly against my promises and conceived a child with Hagar, his wife’s servant. They were seeking to soothe their own emotions: Sarai’s feelings of emptiness, of being less than a whole woman in a society that gave women status based upon her childbearing abilities. Abram seeking to assuage his wife’s feelings of insecurity and loss and his own feelings associated with his lack of children and his wife’s unhappiness. Neither trusted in my timing. Neither, in the end, trusted my word and promise to them. The end result was enmity between Hagar’s child and, later, Sarai’s son. An enmity that has been passed down to this very day. Did I punish them? No. I kept my word and later Sarai and Abram conceived a son. Yet, though I did not punish them or keep them from having their own child, I allowed them to suffer the consequences of taking these actions. Consequences that have echoed throughout the history of my children. There are consequences to taking things into your own hands, my child. Your motives may be good. Your actions may seem harmless. Yet, as you can see by this piece of history, all decisions have consequences that can echo throughout time. If you are not sure what my plan is, wait. If you are not sure whether what you wish to do is of me, wait. If you know I have given you my word on something, even if I tarry, and you grow impatient or feel that you can’t continue on without that thing or event, wait. Unless you are certain that what you are about to do is of me, and it is the right time, wait. I will help you. But, if you don’t wait, if you proceed, if you venture out into something alone – without me – I will not punish you. But, I will allow the natural consequences of such decisions and actions to follow. Every action, every thought, every decision is a spiritual action/thought/decision. Everything has spiritual consequences – both good and bad. Be wise. Be patient. Be wary of quick fixes, patches, instant gratifications. You may find me slow in acting, yet when I do the timing is perfect. Wait on me, child. I am not absent. I am not punishing you in my inaction. I am not trying to harm you. I see the entire picture. I know what you do not. Trust my knowledge, my wisdom, my perfect decision-making and – more than anything – my love and devotion to you and what’s best in your life.