“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.”” -Gen.15:4-5
“So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.” Gen.16:2
I don’t want any more “Ishmaels” in my life.
Ishmael is the metaphor for bad decisions made because of a lack of trusting God and the product of our own impatience.
So many times in my own life I have acted out of impatience, and made poor decisions,
twisting and turning in a lack of resolve to bring about a faster, a more favorable outcome.
Perhaps you can relate.
The result of such actions always ends the same way:
an outcome that is not just less than God promised me in due season,
but oftentimes an outcome with terrible reprecussions.
An “Ishmael”
As I sit on the brink of a momentous decision and a wonderful promise from God
I am again faced with a requirement.
I must wait on God, wait for His perfect timing.
“Father, if You are willing, take this cup away from Me–nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.”
– Yeshua ourMessiah, as He agonized in the garden of Gethsemane.
And so my prayer is “Not my will, but Yours God.”
I have determined to set my face like flint,
trusting Him even in the face of lacking some of the pieces of this puzzle,
even as some who mean well, but lack understanding, deliver a bad report, the report of the 10 out of 12 who went to spy of the “Promised Land”.
No more Ishmaels…I chose to wait for my Isaac- until the conditions, the fleece,
that He has graciously given me as a signpost, are fulfilled, producing the outcome He has for me…
the best.