Running Ahead of God

It is a challenge to keep trusting God when we feel like nothing in our life is working. Do we really just keep trusting that God would be faithful and is able to do what He said He would do? Sometimes it appears easier to simply take matters into our own hands and make sure we get what we want by any means possible. We end up running ahead of God in an attempt to rescue ourselves from difficult situations. But while we attempt to be our own heroes, we disturb our own peace. Well, Abraham ran ahead of God while waiting for the promised son. Many years had passed since God promised him a child and Abraham and Sarah were certainly not getting any younger.

Genesis 16:2,ESV 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 by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai

Genesis 16:2 is the perfect example of believing God’s promise but not really believing that He can do it without our intervention. Sarah suggested that Abraham sleep with Hagar, her maidservant and suggested that she ‘may obtain children through her’. God never mentioned anything about needing another woman’s womb to give birth to the promised child. Their patience had worn thin at this stage, and when we lose patience, we begin to rationalize God’s promises and devise our own strategies to bring them to pass.  But the truth is that when we try to ‘help’ God fulfil His promises to us, we create more issues in the long run. Some of the consequences are beyond what we can comprehend.

Just like we see in Genesis 3 where  Adam listened to the voice of Eve, here we see that Abraham listened to the voice of Sarah and the consequences were beyond what they expected. Not only do we see Abraham and Sarah taking matters into their own hands, we see Abraham demonstrating a lack of leadership by neglecting what God had promised his family and operating outside of that. The following verses show the immediate ramifications—domestic strife. This was Sarah’s idea, but Hagar despised Sarah after she became pregnant. In retaliation, Sarah became cruel to her and the slave girl fled! But even in the midst of the consequences, God demonstrates His mercy. In Gen 16:7-12 we see God providing for Hagar and Ishmael in the desert and comforting Hagar. God encouraged her to go back home to her mistress, Sarah. This was also a special encounter for Hagar where she understood  God as ‘Him who looks after me’ (Genesis 16:13). 

We see more consequences down the line in chapter 21 of Genesis where Abraham is asked to depart from Ishmael, a son he loved. This must have been heart-breaking for Abraham and something he would not have faced if he had not taken matters into his own hands.

The truth is that while we run ahead of God we may feel that we are helping God. But He doesn’t need your help and He certainly doesn’t need you to run ahead of Him in disobedience. Waiting and trusting in God could be challenging, but running ahead of Him is worse. In an attempt to save the day, you not only lose your peace, but you also waste time and resources, only to be confronted with the repercussions of not trusting in God’s timing.

Now, just like we see in the story of Abraham, God is merciful even when we face the consequences of running ahead of Him. He was gentle towards Abraham and showed kindness towards Hagar and Ishmael even though they were not part of the promise. God knows that we are weak and like sheep, we go astray, thinking that we know better than our Shepherd.

For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.(Psalm 103: 14,KJV)

Don’t be discouraged if you’ve found yourself in a position where you’ve gotten ahead of God and now struggling with the consequences; the Lord is gracious. But going forward, before you run ahead of God with your idea or your understanding test it against James 3:17,NIV 

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

If your idea or solution to your difficult circumstance doesn’t meet the description in James 3:17  it is likely that you are attempting to take matters into your own hands and running ahead of God. In one sense when we do this, we are saying that God is slow, and we are demonstrating that we know better than God. Avoid falling into this trap as you journey through life and make important decisions. Don’t run ahead of God because the consequences are inevitable and will ultimately cause you more pain. So whatever you may be waiting for, whether it is healing, a job, marriage, a child, good news; meditate on Psalm 27:14,ESV

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord