We Have To Get Out Of The Driver" s Seat With Our Finances
Genesis 15:3 highlights a characteristic that I struggle with. "And Abram said, 'You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.'" (NIV) I'm pretty sure that I am not the only one who struggles with this. Here, Abram challenged God's will. He worried about getting old and not having a son to carry on the family line. His concern was that his inheritance would end up going to one of his servants.
This illustrates our struggle with God's timing. We want or expect things to happen the way we would like. Sometimes, though, God has other plans. In Isaiah 55:8, God told us that, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways." (NIV)
God has reasons for not allowing certain things in our lives, even if we really want them. A "no" from God may have different meanings, though. "No" could mean "not ever" or just "not now."
Let's look at a few Bible stories about people who took situations into their own hands.
Sarai (Genesis 16)
Sarai was Abram's wife. She, too, was worried about Abram not having an heir. She offered her maidservant, Hagar, to Abram, with the hopes that he could build a family through her. As a result, Abram and Hagar had a son named Ishmael.
An angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar and foretold the future we could expect from this decision. Genesis 16:12 tells us this about Ishmael: "He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers." (NIV)
To this day, there is strife in the Middle East. The descendants of Ishmael are today's Muslims, who are still at odds with Christians.
Lot's daughters (Genesis 19:30-38)
God had just destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot and his family were able to escape. However, Lot's wife disobeyed and did not survive.
Lot and his two daughters settled in the mountains, and were alone. The girls worried about not being able to preserve their father's family line. They plotted to get Lot drunk, and they both became pregnant by their father.
The sons born to them were Moab and Ben-Ammi, fathers of the Moabites and the Ammonites. Bible history tells many stories about the troubles that the Israelites had with these two nations.
The Moabites were a very disobedient group and often led the Israelites astray into immoral behavior, as well as worshipping other gods. (Number 25:1-3)
David (2 Samuel 11-12)
David fell for a beautiful woman named Bathsheba. Bathsheba was married to one of David's soldiers, Uriah. While her husband was away at war, she became pregnant with David's child.
David tried to fix his mess by bringing Uriah home. But Uriah was a loyal soldier and refused to go home to his wife. Unable to cover up the pregnancy, David then decided that his only option was to have Uriah killed. He intentionally had Uriah put in the toughest part of the battle, and he died.
David married Bathsheba after her mourning period, and she gave birth to David's son.
God did not take this lightly. He sent Nathan to talk to David. He reminded David of the good that God had done for him. God said, "If all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in His eyes?" (2 Samuel 12:8-9 NIV)
David repented, and God forgave Him. However, that did not take away the consequences for his decision. Nathan told David in 2 Samuel 12:14, "But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die." (NIV)
We are not the only ones impacted
The choices we make have consequences that affect those around us. As we can see in David's story, our children suffer (and can even die) as a result of our bad decisions.
The stories of Sarai and Lot's two daughters illustrate that the impact can last for more generations than we can possibly imagine. Throughout Bible history, many people have suffered because of the Moabites and Ammonites. A whole nation of Muslims, millions and millions of people, still do not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
We should be more diligent about going to God in prayer with respect to our desires. If our desires line up with His, God may bless us. If they do not, we must be willing to be patient to wait for the right time, or be content with God's will.
There's a country song by Carrie Underwood called "Jesus, Take the Wheel." She asks Jesus to take the wheel from her hands because she can't do it on her own. Neither can we. Let's get out of the driver's seat and allow Jesus to take over.
This illustrates our struggle with God's timing. We want or expect things to happen the way we would like. Sometimes, though, God has other plans. In Isaiah 55:8, God told us that, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways." (NIV)
God has reasons for not allowing certain things in our lives, even if we really want them. A "no" from God may have different meanings, though. "No" could mean "not ever" or just "not now."
Let's look at a few Bible stories about people who took situations into their own hands.
Sarai (Genesis 16)
Sarai was Abram's wife. She, too, was worried about Abram not having an heir. She offered her maidservant, Hagar, to Abram, with the hopes that he could build a family through her. As a result, Abram and Hagar had a son named Ishmael.
An angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar and foretold the future we could expect from this decision. Genesis 16:12 tells us this about Ishmael: "He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers." (NIV)
To this day, there is strife in the Middle East. The descendants of Ishmael are today's Muslims, who are still at odds with Christians.
Lot's daughters (Genesis 19:30-38)
God had just destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot and his family were able to escape. However, Lot's wife disobeyed and did not survive.
Lot and his two daughters settled in the mountains, and were alone. The girls worried about not being able to preserve their father's family line. They plotted to get Lot drunk, and they both became pregnant by their father.
The sons born to them were Moab and Ben-Ammi, fathers of the Moabites and the Ammonites. Bible history tells many stories about the troubles that the Israelites had with these two nations.
The Moabites were a very disobedient group and often led the Israelites astray into immoral behavior, as well as worshipping other gods. (Number 25:1-3)
David (2 Samuel 11-12)
David fell for a beautiful woman named Bathsheba. Bathsheba was married to one of David's soldiers, Uriah. While her husband was away at war, she became pregnant with David's child.
David tried to fix his mess by bringing Uriah home. But Uriah was a loyal soldier and refused to go home to his wife. Unable to cover up the pregnancy, David then decided that his only option was to have Uriah killed. He intentionally had Uriah put in the toughest part of the battle, and he died.
David married Bathsheba after her mourning period, and she gave birth to David's son.
God did not take this lightly. He sent Nathan to talk to David. He reminded David of the good that God had done for him. God said, "If all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in His eyes?" (2 Samuel 12:8-9 NIV)
David repented, and God forgave Him. However, that did not take away the consequences for his decision. Nathan told David in 2 Samuel 12:14, "But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die." (NIV)
We are not the only ones impacted
The choices we make have consequences that affect those around us. As we can see in David's story, our children suffer (and can even die) as a result of our bad decisions.
The stories of Sarai and Lot's two daughters illustrate that the impact can last for more generations than we can possibly imagine. Throughout Bible history, many people have suffered because of the Moabites and Ammonites. A whole nation of Muslims, millions and millions of people, still do not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
We should be more diligent about going to God in prayer with respect to our desires. If our desires line up with His, God may bless us. If they do not, we must be willing to be patient to wait for the right time, or be content with God's will.
There's a country song by Carrie Underwood called "Jesus, Take the Wheel." She asks Jesus to take the wheel from her hands because she can't do it on her own. Neither can we. Let's get out of the driver's seat and allow Jesus to take over.