Are You Trying To Lend God a Helping Hand?

Good morning!  I hope you had a great weekend.

Genesis 16:1-4 (NASB)
1  Now Sarai, Abram's wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar.  2  So Sarai said to Abram, "Now behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid ; perhaps I will obtain children through her." And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.  3  After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram's wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife.  4  He went in to Hagar, and she conceived ; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight.

Have you ever tried to give God a helping hand?  I think at some point all of us are guilty of doing that very thing.  Abraham and Sarai were a perfect example.  God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great and mighty people, even though his wife Sarai had been barren and they were advanced in age.  The fulfillment of that promise was not immediate in coming and as the years passed it seemed to be out of the realm of possibility.  So Sarai decided it was time to give God a helping hand.  She offered her maid Hagar to her husband, that she might give birth to a child for him.

In the end, Hagar did end up giving birth, but this was not the joyous celebration Sarai had imagined.  In fact it became a source of great conflict and resentment.  When we seek to assist God in bringing about His promises, we often end up in the same place.   The plans that made sense in our minds create pitfalls that we never imagined.

The walk of faith requires patience and obedience.  What God has spoken, He will accomplish in His perfect timing.   We have to trust in the validity of His words to us and not deviate simply because we get impatient or the fulfillment of those promises appears to be impossible.  It is in these moments we must cling tightly to the words of Jesus:

Matthew 19:26 (NASB)
26  And looking at them Jesus said to them, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

It is through these situations of impossibility that God brings forth His glory through our lives.   When the impossible becomes reality there is no other choice, but to give Him the credit.  

Today you may be impatient in waiting for the promises of God to be fulfilled in your life.  Take a deep breath and remember that He has your best interest at heart.  By trying to lend a helping hand, you will only create new problems in your life.  In the end, the glory of the promise fulfilled will be well worth the wait.

Until next Monday, may God's richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl

No Turning Back

Numbers 14:3 (NASB)
"Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword ? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder ; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt ?"

Sometimes the promises of God are only fulfilled after a long journey or refining process.   Staying the course during those times can be challenging.  Everything within you screams "go back!"  In spite of this inner turmoil there is something deep within you that keeps you pressing forward.  The promise of God rings in your ears and rises up deep within you.  You draw deep from His presence and somehow find the courage to keep going.

This might best be equated the labor a mother goes through to bring her precious child into the world.   Every contract hurts worse than the previous one, but there is no turning back.  The only choice is to endure the pain and push.  Each wave brings the knowledge that the birth of the child is that much closer.

Today you may find yourself struggling with the pain of moving forward in the promises of God.  Focus in on the glory of the moment when those things are realized and find the courage to press on.

Until next Monday, may God's richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl

You Are Being Refined

Good morning!  I hope you had a great weekend.

Psalm 66:10 (NASB)
For You have tried us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined.

We each go through times in our life where the heat of our circumstances is almost unbearable.  We cry out to God for relief and yet we find the heat remains.  It is in these times that we may even questions God's love for us.   Why would he let me go through so much challenge?

What we later realize is that we were in the midst of God's refining process.   God is transforming our lives into a thing of beauty that brings about His glory.  Unfortunately the only way we purify anything in this world is by heating it up.  We purify water by boiling it.  We purify metal by melting it down and skimming the impurities.  Heat is the mechanism of purification.  As the heat is applied to our lives, the hidden darkness within us gets revealed as it surfaces.  Once visible, God forces us to deal with that darkness and our purity increases.

Today you may find yourself in the crucible of refinement.  Remember that God is purifying your life and that with each passing day you are becoming more radiant to the world around you.

Until next Monday, may God's richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl