Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. 2). And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. 3). And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the Land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. 4). And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. 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. 6). But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.
GENESIS 16:1-6
Has God given you a vision that is as yet unfulfilled? Has He assigned you a task that remains incomplete, though you’ve done everything you know to do?
The “gaps” the Lord creates in our life are designed for His specific purposes. Sometimes they are meant to prepare us for His preordained answer. It’s also possible He first wants to take care of some other necessary component of His plan. Perhaps a delay is intended to test our faith so He can prove Himself trustworthy. Or He may be using a pause as an occasion for correction.
It is always wise to wait on the Lord while He prepares us for His answers. We should pray and trust God, not acting until we’re certain that we have heard from Him and Him alone. Even people with godly intentions can be wrong—look at Abram’s poor decisions after listening to the seemingly solid logic of his wife. The result was that Sarai’s hand-maiden Hagar conceived Abram’s child, which was not part of the Lord’s preferred plan.
Anything other than God’s plan carried out God’s way amounts to self-reliance. Depend on His Spirit when deciding how to proceed; any other course of action can lead to serious and lasting repercussions.
-IBC
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