I never cease to be amazed at the foolishness of men, ME included. Ironically, after God had just made a covenant with Abram, Sarai and Abram decide to “Help God Out.” Sarai allows Abram to marry her hand maid–Hagar, Hagar gets pregnant and shock of shocks, the women hate each other. Hagar now feels superior as she is carrying the heir, and Sarai is jealous and bitter because her husband has slept with her maid and conceived a child. Things get ugly and Sarai treats Hagar horribly. Hagar runs away to the desert and the Angel of the Lord encourages her and sends her back.
God had literally just promised Abraham the Lord would build the nation through Abram. Abram should have maintained that faith that was credited to him as righteousness. Instead, Abram follows the easy way-out and produces his own heir. God tells Hagar this heir would be an enemy to all his brothers–Abram in helping God out; had just created an arch enemy to travel through history and make His chosen people’s life miserable.
It often seems when we get close to the Lord, we sabotage that relationship by doing something stupid. I wish I could point the finger in a moment of self-righteousness, but sadly I have done the same stupid things on countless occasions. We must hold on and wait on the Lord. If we will, He will complete His plan in His timing.
When God completes His plan, it is always so much more awesome than when we “Help Him out.” Make it your goal this week to simply wait upon the Lord and allow God to complete His plan for your life. If you are tempted to help God out, think of Abram who would now become Abraham (Father of many nations) and think of the absence of peace in the middle east.
God Bless You
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”
Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.
When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”
6 “Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.
7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”
11 The angel of the Lord also said to her:
Walking With God 