Today's Devotional

Today's Devotional brought to you by Prayer Warrior Jon Vasgar

                                                               Title: "You Want Me To Do What??!" aka The Story of Abraham: Part 3

Verses: Genesis 15:3-4 'Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!" And behold, the word of the LORD [came] to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir." Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."'

Remember at the beginning of this study, I mentioned that Abram was quite old (75) when he began this journey. We know catch up to him about 12 years later. He's just been told by God that he will have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky. At this point, his and his wife's childbearing days are long gone, as far as he knows.

The problem is minimal in God's eyes. God promised it would come to pass, and the child would be borne by his wife Sarai, who was 10 years younger. Sarai didn't believe God and gave Abram her handmaid, Haggai, who did bear him a child. vs 15: 'So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.' That may not mean anything to you right now, till you stop and think that Israel is the nation that descended from Abram's line with Isaac. Those that descended from Ishmael would become the modern Arabic nations, many of whom are now, and have been, Israel'e enemies. This all could have been prevented had Abram and Sarai not tried to 'help' God out.

Understand, God doesn't need our help to get His will for us done. If He wants something to happen in our lives, we don't need to try our own way, thinking it's better than God's- because it isn't. Honestly, when we do things our own way, we tend to mess everything up. Look at the example of Jacob (Abram's grandson), he royally messed things up and betrayed his father and his brother to get the inheritance God had promised him. Genesis 27:35a 'But he said, "Your brother came with deceit'. God doesn't use sin to get things done. He didn't need Jacob to lie to his father and steal from his brother. He had a plan, sadly Jacob messed it up and wrecked his family because of it.

Aren't we sometimes the same way? We know God has promised us a family, so we date an unsaved person thinking we know we can change them. Instead, they pull us down and before we know it, we are unequally yoked. Or, we know God has promised us a job, so we take the first thing that makes us happy and miss out on a better job, too focused on this one. Soon, we may be missing church or ministry, as we are too busy chasing the almighty dollar. Perhaps it's more complex than that. God's called you to a ministry, but you think you know better, so you keep ignoring His leading and are chasing after something else, missing out on the blessings He has for you.

We so often try to force our square wills into God's round holes for our lives. Stop doing that! Psalm 23:3 'He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.' (KJV) Don't you think He's got it figured out? He's known you for a very long time. God told Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart."(NIV) He knows who we are before anybody else does. Don't you realize He's omnipresent, He's omniscient? He's all knowing, all present, Almighty God! He has a plan, you don't need to push Him along. He's got it under control.

If I'm honest, I admit to doing that. Getting into a relationship and running at full tilt without asking God if it's right. Feels great till you smack head first into a brick wall. Then, God picks up the pieces of my life and says, "If you would have asked me, I would have warned you." Or, getting into a job that I don't have the skill set for and ending up unemployed because I was too busy chasing a pipe dream and not willing to keep what God had given me. Thank God He's so patient and gives us more chances, otherwise I'd be broke and still broken hearted. My point? God's got the whole world in His hands, that includes you.

Friend, where are you headed? Are you listening to the still, small voice that is telling you that there are blessings in store? Or have you heard the first whisper of one and off you go chasing it down your own way? Why not let go of the reins of your life- the "wheel" if you will- and let God take control. Stop trying to make things happen on your time table. Let Him lead the way, it's a much better life, filled with less loss and less heartbreak. Let go and let God.

Song: The following songs are kind of a personal testimony for me. They speak to the promise of God. He will lead you if you let Him.