Day 10 - Issue 27
Genesis 16:1-2 NLT
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for 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.”
Over the years, I’ve taken tests seeking to both understand more of myself and find my best fit in a working team. One is the Belbin tool that reveals I’m a ‘resource investigator’, someone who finds what’s needed to complete a project. While working for Youth for Christ, I was often deployed in trying to make the seemingly impossible happen. I enjoyed such challenges.
Over time, I identified this came at a cost to my faith. Since I was gifted in finding solutions, I grew confident in my ability to navigate life’s challenges. Faith was my opportunity to deploy my instincts and offer the solution. In one sense I leant on God, for God had created and gifted me. Yet, the line between my natural ability and God’s provision was unclear. What’s the difference between trusting in myself and trusting in God?
Sarai seeks to facilitate her and Abram’s desire for a baby. Let Hagar conceive and carry the child and Sarai would bring the baby up. It’s a practical solution, born of human wisdom not divine decree. I am sure everyone was well-intentioned. Jealousy and confusion ensued in the Patriarch’s house. I’ve crafted my own number of confusing situations through my own well-intentioned interventions.
My learning has been to stop seeking solutions and look with interest at how things will turn out. It’s a level one form of faith. Fortunately it’s not gone too badly, although I’ve blown hot and cold on occasions. My capacity to deliver God’s solutions is limited: I’m mortal. I am always taking thought for tomorrow, in direct disobedience to Jesus’ appeal (Matthew 6:34). My risk-averse nature hesitates and frets at such moments. Yet, as I’ve grown older, as I have taken God at his word, while life has not become easier, my ability to rest and take comfort in God has increased.
QUESTION: Are there areas of life where you have taken God’s promises into your own hands?
PRAYER: Lord, help me do my part and trust you in your time to do yours.
