The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. Genesis 21:1
It made no sense.
Sarah was too old.
Everyone was laughing.
They had tried to “help God out”.
But, God did as God promised to do.
In spite of the circumstance.
In spite of the irrationality of the situation.
In spite of those who said it couldn’t be done.
In spite of how long it seemed to be taking.
Sarah delivered a son, even in her very old age.
Don’t discount God because of your circumstances.
God is going to do what God chooses to do. He keeps His promises.
Where in your life are you waiting for God?
As a child, I was taught by my father to pray Psalm 91 every night. He told be that those words were like a shield against harm for me, and that whether I felt threatened,I should pray it until I felt God by my side… Then I’d know I was safe. I did as my father said for the most part. I always felt unafraid, even when I was faced with terrifying situations. I trusted God would pull me through to the other side. Two years ago, I had a dream in which someone I’d known to be a very faithful and godly person came to me to warn me that I NEEDED to be strong and to cling to God in order to survive. I thought she spoke of a serious disease I had just been diagnosed with… In hindsight, I feel it was a warning that a few weeks after that dream, my husband would begin an affair with the choir director at our church. As such things are, the fallout was devastating to me and our children… We’ve tried for the last two years to work through it, and it’s been very difficult. Last year, I had a dream that a different woman would fine to work with my husband and that they’d have an affair too. I shared this with him, and he dismissed it, saying I’d only dreamt it because I’d somehow discovered he’d be interviewing women for a secretary position that very day. I did not know that before. I described the woman and even drew a picture of her for him and he dismissed me saying I’d drawn a picture of his former affair partner. Things got so bad after that and we had many arguments about it, him calling me delusional, that I became so depressed that I tried to commit suicide. A few months after,I was waiting for my husband after work when I saw the new secretary walk out of the building. I recognized get immediately as the woman I’d dreamt about him having a new affair with… She wasn’t his former affair partner, but she resembled her somewhat… Had the same cheekbones and hairstyle, same body type, only thinner…
How is this possible? How could I dream the face of someone I had never met before, but that would come into my husband’s life in a matter of days? How can I know what she’d look like even before he interviewed her?
I firmly believe that God sent the warning for the first affair, and that God sent the warning again because of the potential for a second affair with this woman… I have done everything possible to get my husband to even consider this is possible. He thinks I’m crazy, and unfortunately, he uses the fact that I tried to kill myself as proof that my mind is grasping at straws…
I’m so dejected that he isn’t taking my warning seriously, and that he thinks he’s in control of his actions, even after he’s proven that he’s easily manipulated into sin because his ego thrives on the attention another woman can offer him… I’m so afraid of him interacting with this woman 10 hours every day… He spends more time in her presence than he does with me. He started an affair with someone he only saw on Sundays last time… What makes me think nothing will happen now?
I know I need to trust God, and that he will show me the path to follow, but I’m afraid that my heart is too tired and wounded to fight any more. I feel so alone and I am so afraid for the first time in my life… God protects us and watches over us, but we humans are the ones who make the choices which direct our lives… My husband has already made a devastating choice, and I am starting to feel that God is calling to deaf ears with him.
Hi ron,
I'm currently in a situation where I only have until the 31st of this month for something to happen. The end of the month is this Saturday coming up. Ever since I decided to put this situation in the Lord's hands, He's been talking to me about it (at least I believe it was Him. I wouldn't make any of these things up). He spoke to me about the fruits of the spirit and how there is no law against showing kindness to a person or being kind in general, He spoke to me about when I take matters into my own hands they don't work out at the time I want them to or the way I want them to but when He steps in to handle them, He works them out perfectly and even in more than what I asked, He spoke to me about how sometimes people won't understand when the extra effort I put into something but in the end the hard work pays off in more ways that one. He spoke to me through Luke 12 that was written about in an email devotional a friend sent me and showed me that He cares for the details in our lives and the details He placed in my very own situation that made it special. He also spoke to me about His character and how, contrary to what I feared and believed, He's not deceitful, He's not trying to pull the wool over my eyes, instead He's loving, kind, and trustworthy.
Then there was this passed week. Every day of this week I was either awoken in the middle of the night, or at 4, 5, or 6 in the morning. Even now I write this as I woke up at 1 in the morning.
One time, I woke up in the middle of the night and as I tossed and turned in stress, I heard loud and clear, "God controls the time". A day or two afterwards as I was writing about the character of God in my journal when I clearly heard Him ask me, "why are you worried about the timing?… (He said more, but it's specific to the situation)". Just yesterday I woke up at 5 in the morning and I began to beg God to rectify my situation when I distinctly heard, "be still and know that I am God". I was led to write a poem about it and just expressed how I felt. Then, when I went to go look for an article my cousin sent me earlier in the week, the current devotional that the link redirected me to was titled "Stay Clam" and spoke about us being still and letting God do the work in the midst of our troubles. However, following all of this, I had the roughest emotional day since I put it in the Lord's hands. Instead of being still, it felt like a storm of anger and rage erupted inside of me. I literally cried out in despair the WHOLE day until I was out of breath and my throat hurt. Perhaps because I didn't listen and fight through the chatter to just be still. Maybe it was the enemy trying to have me throw in the towel and question God. I haven't thrown in the towel, but I did question God.
It seems like God has been speaking to me about what to think in this situation, I would hope that after all of this He would answer my prayer to some extent. I am nervous about the last minute. It does indeed make me feel anxious. I know the Word says to be anxious about nothing but in everything, through prayer and with thanksgiving, make our requests known to God. Putting the situation in the Lord's hands was a big leap of faith for me to begin with as I'd been fearing doing so for so long. There's a small part of me that is excited to see how The Lord is going to bring things together, but for the most part I am overwhelmed with doubt and fear. I know I need to let those go. The clock is ticking and I am getting more and more anxious by the minute. At this point it just seems totally impossible that what I asked for would actually happen. But, maybe that's exactly where God wants me?
Does He like to keep us guessing??
I don't know that I would say God likes to keep us guessing. It's certainly not a game to him. I would say that we aren't able to fully understand all his ways. And his timing is so different from ours. And he's working in ways we cannot see. And he's doing things even as we wait. In our heart, in our circumstances, and in other peoples lives.
Apart from your circumstance ,since I don't know what it is …I can relate in feeling to this in almost ever way. When i asked God to change my heart, from my desire ,because I was'nt completely sure it was His will , the same day I had a dream of Jesus telling me , "Every thing is going according to plan" and I turned to someone whose face I couldnt see and said " theres a plan so beautiful, and we cant see it yet!"… It was encouraging ,because I never dreamed of Jesus before.However alot of times doubt tries to creep in,and I ask myself "was it just my subconscious??" I'm more inclined to believe not…but I have been hearing ,and seeing that message "Be Stil " and also
proverb 3:5-6 always pops up for me..I often wonder is this all just a lesson???? But yes I'm working on being still ,and letting God,be God. I try to focus on the fact that whatever happens It will all work out for good, because thats a promise. God Bless
Thanks for the message this morning Ron! One of my friends is right now going through the pain of being overlooked for promotion after working hard for several years in his organization. He is dejected and depressed. I am sharing this post with him. Thanks for the post.
Thank you Uma!
Thank you! He is only asking me if I trust Him! That is the big question for me. And where I want to live more often! It truly is about faith and believing God is who He says He is! Thank you for this
Amen. Thank you.
The marriage. I truly believe that she is God's choice for me. And I know that I've messed up, but I've tried daily for the last three years to rebuild trust and love in her heart for me again. And most days I feel like a fool and a failure. But I keep on because I believe that's what He wants me to do. As dark as it looks most days, I know that He can turn her heart in a moment. The thing is that there isn't any promise in the Bible about this; nothing that says if I do the right thing, He'll turn her heart to me. But, no matter what, I know that I am obeying His word and being the example, the man,and He'll take care of me, no matter what that looks like.
Jon, be sure to see the comment on this post: <a href="https://ronedmondson.com/2012/04/when-the-boys-were-at-home.htmlhttps://ronedmondson.com/2012/04/when-the-boys… />This guy may be a new friend. Certainly seems to be a similar situation.