Trusting God requires restraint.
And sometimes?
Sometimes showing restraint is the greatest sign of faith.
Have you ever known something is about to change, needs to change or downright HAS to change?
I’m not talking about something we can 100% control, but something that requires deep-seated faith.
That was the case for Abraham & Sarah & their grandson, Jacob, & his wife, Rachel.
Both wives were seemingly barren & yet God promised something extraordinary: Abraham would have as many descendants as the stars in the sky & Jacob’s would be as numerous as the dust of the earth.
I find it fascinating that the same sin that tripped up Abraham & Sarah was the same sin that snared Jacob & Rachel: the sin of unbelief & the subsequent impatient action to make “it” happen!
Both wives, during the wait for the promise to be fulfilled, offered their handmaiden to their husband to bear children on their behalf.
They “made” the promise happen on THEIR timing & in THEIR way, but they also created consequences that impacted their future family which could’ve been avoided had they simply trusted God. In some ways, those children were a counterfeit fulfillment of the promise. They were sons, but were also the result of God’s permissive will & not so much His perfect will.
The amazing thing about God’s Word, however, is that it never returns void.
The couples’ sin & impatience didn’t impede God’s promise.
There is something I’m facing this AM where I’d like to take decisive action…I want to see a circumstance changed SO much that I feel itchy with impatience!
And yet, I want God’s perfect will orchestrated in my life FAR more than His permissive will & the subsequent consequences that follow MY will when I follow MY way in MY timing!
Father, I love that You love us so much that You give us freedom to follow. You are not a tyrant Who mandates what we must do. You woo us to Your Way & yet sometimes? Sometimes, it’s hard to choose faith-fueled restraint over outcome-driven action. Holy Spirit, remind us when we’re itching to take action, that restraint is a sign of great faith! Fill us with your fruit of self control & help us wait patiently on God’s perfect timing.
GENESIS 30:1-31:16
MATTHEW 10:1-23
PSALM 12:1-8
PROVERBS 3:13-15
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