Genesis 16 – The Jesus Chick

In need of hope? Glory to God I need it every day! I wake up with Satan at the foot of my bed telling me that there is no hope. I should give up on the day before it gets started. The aches and pains in my body tend to raise their hand in agreement and say “we think that’s logical.”

There is no logic in faith (at least to the world) and faith gives birth to hope. Apostle Paul speaks of that in Romans 4, reminding the believers of an original believer, Abraham, who against hope believed in hope.

Romans 4:18-25

Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

CONTRADICTION TO HOPE

It was not logical that a one hundred year old man should have a child, but God did not say he would have a child, God told him that he would be the father of nations. That goes beyond what the body and mind can comprehend. There is no doubt in my mind that Satan continually tried to steal Abraham’s hope by telling him that he was crazy to think he was going to have a child. Why else would he have bought into Sarah’s plan to have a child with Hagar. (Genesis 16)

God tells me through His word this morning that although the world (and my body) says that there is no hope, there is hope and there is a plan. I need to stick to it.

CONFIDENT IN HOPE

The word says that Abraham staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief. His faith gave birth to the hope that God’s Word would be fulfilled and his wife would give birth to a son just as God had said. Faith comes first. We cannot have hope unless we have faith. I have faith in God, Jehovah, my Provider. He has proven Himself true again and again, Satan has proven himself a liar again and again, and I want to see through, not to stagger, as God brings to fruition, (gives birth) to this plan He has for me. Do you have that confidence today? God is faithful… trust Him!!!

CONVINCED IN HOPE

Abraham was fully persuaded that, what he (GOD) had promised, he was able also to perform. Don’t let Satan convince you any other way than what God has spoken. When I began to write this I started to say that Satan was on the bed post, but that put him above me, and that is not the case.

Paul said in Romans 16:20 ~ And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. He may have been speaking of Satan being under our feet in the very near future or in the end times, but regardless Satan is beneath us, not above. I don’t need to elevate him in any way in my life – be it metaphorically or literally. I am convinced that God is the God of All Hope. Satan is a liar. My faith in Christ has been proven again and again!

Satan is a contradiction to hope. Be confident and stand strong in his adversity, be convinced (assured) that God will deliver what it is you stand in need of just as He delivered Sarah of that precious child who was the beginning of the great Nation Israel that God had promised!

How many times have we said it? We know it may not be the will of God for our lives, but we want it. We’re not sure we can even afford the maintenance, but we want it. We have two similar, but not exact… we want it. Color me guilty. We’re a spoiled nation. I’m never any more aware of it than I am when I speak to my friends in other countries whose idea of luxury is more than one meal a day; those whose meager belongings would likely fit in a grocery cart and I’m complaining because I don’t have the latest and greatest of some new trend that I’ll tire of tomorrow.

That wasn’t necessarily the case in Sarai’s day. What she wanted was a child, not an unreasonable request, especially for the culture of the day. But she grew tired of waiting and tried to fix God’s problem for Him.

Genesis 16:2

And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

I posted a quote yesterday that I heard on Sirius XM radio on my way to work in the morning.~ “Worry is not believing God knows what’s best, bitterness is believing He was wrong.” I don’t know who’s thought it was, but I thought it was profound! And then when I added the story of Sarah to the equation later on in the day, I thought God may have just been trying to tell me something. Possibly He’s trying to tell you too!

It wasn’t that God didn’t want Sarah to have a child, but her timing was off. So in her attempt to fix God’s problem she created a problem for the entire nation of Israel. (Ishmael, the son of her handmade) is the root of the Arab nations which continue today to be a thorn in Israel’s side, and ours! Ahhh, but surely your decision won’t have a lasting effect? After all, yours is not a child, it’s a car, or a stereo, or cute shoes. As with most issues in life, it was Sarah’s heart issue that was the problem.

She had told Abraham, “the Lord hath restrained me from bearing.” To restrain is to “keep something under control.” It wasn’t that Sarah couldn’t have children, it was that the Lord was preventing it and Sarah knew that. She was in a sense saying “God says it’s not my time, but I believe it is.” Timing is everything, whether it be a child, a job, or something materialistic.

Sarah’s decision didn’t please God and it didn’t please Sarah. We find her later complaining to Abraham in verse 5 “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.” If I’m reading that right Sarah still had quite the attitude and her relationship with the Lord may have been a little skewed. In my mind the phrase “the Lord judge between me and thee,” is the equivalency of saying “If you don’t believe me, just ask God.” Had either of them done that, we’d not be in the fix we’re in today in the Middle East. Sarah now expected Abraham to fix the issue.

Times haven’t changed much. We still play the blame game and wait for someone else to clean up our aisle. We need more prayer prior to our decisions for less problems afterwards.

Are you trying to rush God? Stop. Are you angry because it didn’t go as planned? Stop. If a wrong decision’s been made, repent and allow God to walk you through. If you haven’t crossed the line yet, now would be a good time to reflect back on Sarah’s story and consider the far reaching consequences of your decision.

If someone else’s bad decision is the issue, forgive and allow God to work through both of you.

If this message encouraged you, I’d love to hear about!

Tag: Genesis 16

Logic is so Overrated

But I want That!