Have you ever been so impatient for something that you become willing to settle for a different, yet instant, thing altogether?
Cody loves to cook. He finds enjoyment in making fancy meals that take hours of preparation. My mouth starts watering Saturday morning, as he describes what he has in mind for our dinner. My tummy starts growling as he gathers the ingredients. My eyes start watching the clock as he chops, dices and stirs. By the time the aromas loft their way in exploration of our home, I am just too hungry too wait a minute longer. Thirty minutes before his masterpiece is ready, I will begin to nibble in the kitchen. One handful of M&Ms here, a scoop of peanut butter there, one chip, two chips, this is my last one chip...before I know it dinner is ready, but I am full. I settle for something immediate and mediocre when he had planned to serve me something wonderful and satisfying.
Similar to Cody, God has great plans of what He wants to give us. He has formed a plan of all the ways he wants to bless us early on and is letting those blessings simmer until they are perfect. Furthermore, he knows what time and place we will need these gifts the most and arranges their reveal accordingly.
Genesis 16 is a great illustration of this very scenario. God, as we read, has a plan to bless Abram with numerous descendants and land. He has promised that in the right time, it will happen. After awhile, Abram and his wife start watching that clock, and wondering if they can wait any longer. Abram is in his eighty's for Petes' sake. In this chapter, they decide that they will find their own, more immediate solution to being childless: having Abram marry and impregnate the maidservant of Sarai.
It is easy to convince ourselves that what is immediate is better. Our society runs off of the principle that fastest and easiest is best. We see this at work in many areas, for example: fast food, online shopping and for some, even in finding a partner. We associate what is immediate with convenience and let that weigh in our decisions. Convenience in this sense however, is more often then not momentary. It also has a tendency to bring consequences that are more inconvenient than being patient would in the long run. At times our impatience can even change circumstances so that we are no longer able to have the original thing we wanted so badly in the first place.
Abram and Sarai face the consequences of their impatience. Once the maidservant, Hagar, is with child there is strife between her and her master. This quickly escalates and Hagar runs away. She finds herself at a spring, greated by an angel of the Lord. He tells her to return and submit. She will have a son named Ishmael who will, 'live in hostility' toward all of those around him. Hagar calls God, 'El Roi' or,'The one who sees me'. This is why the spring is called, 'Beer Lahai Roi'.
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