Irvin Wasswa- Tylertown Campus Pastor LHBC
Genesis 16:1-6
16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children[a] by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.[b] 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.
My last semester of college I made the grave mistake of taking the toughest class of my college career. The class had four assignments including a major term paper that accounted for 40% of our total grade. The issue at hand that I faced was that I literally did not understand the assignment. I wasn’t paying attention in class when the professor explained the assignment and so when it was given, I had no idea. The professor reached out to our class and said that we could meet with him to explain the assignment but I believed in my own ability to figure out the assignment so instead of asking for help, I tried to figure it out on my own. I stayed up all night working on the assignment and turned it in. I’ll never forget when I got the paper back and saw a ton of red marks on it. I knew I was in a mess. If I failed this assignment, I failed the class and would not be able to graduate. Thankfully though, my professor showed our class grace and threw the assignment out so it did not count against us. I was able to pass the class and graduate (Hallelujah!).
Aren’t you thankful for grace in times when you find yourself in a mess? I am thankful for the God of grace who exhibits His grace and mercy in our lives when we do end up in a mess. However that doesn’t mean that we should be ok with living lives as believers that lead us into messes. Abram and Sarai in Genesis 16 found themselves in a mess. Remember, in Genesis 15 God had promised Abram (would change to Abraham) that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. However Abram and Sarai were both old so it seemed as though it would be impossible. So instead of seeking and trusting God, they decided to take matters into their own hands and found themselves in a mess. Jealousy and slander filled the house, and most importantly they did not follow God’s plan for their family.
Here is the truth friends-when we choose to neglect following God’s way, we can just about guarantee that we will find ourselves in a mess. Even as believers we can find ourselves falling into the trap of thinking we are smart enough to figure it out, wise enough to engineer it on our own, gifted enough to lead our own path when in reality we are not. Let me encourage you today to choose to TRUST AND OBEY. Choose to trust in the Lord and obey Him. As you walk with Him in prayer in this new year and He guides your life, choose to trust in what He says and walk in obedience to what He says. As you spend time in His Word, trust in His promises and obey the truths He has given us. May we choose to live out Proverbs 3:5-6 and trust in the Lord at all times and let Him lead our path!
It reminds me of an old hymn we used to sing back in the day at church:
Trust and obey
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus
But to trust and obey
May that be our song in 2022.
PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord, help me to lean not on my own understand but choose to let you lead my life today and this year. I don’t want to continue to find myself in a mess by trying to do things my way. I surrender myself to You. I want you to lead! Help me to trust and obey! In Jesus’ name, Amen!
MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK:
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.