Faith challenged by influence!
Verse for Today: Wednesday, October 03, 2012
Genesis 16:2b – Abram agreed to what Sarai said.
Suggestions are powerful ways to influence our lives. They are all the more powerful when coming from those in whom we confide. Suggestions make us do things that our faith would not want us to do. Suggestions come with logic, evidence, intelligence and pragmatism that it becomes very difficult to ignore it. Suggestions are often used by the world, our flesh and Satan, to make us do what we are not expected to do. These enemies give us seemingly solid arguments for us to do things often against what we know are not right before God. The suggestion from Sarai for them to have a child through a detour came from her unwillingness to wait for God’s time to come. The suggestion was so powerful and convincing that it prevailed over the will of Abram to resist. He followed it willingly even though he received the promise of a child by God. He was guaranteed by the Sovereign Lord that in Him all the nations of the world will be blessed. But when the powerful suggestion against the express will of God knocked at the door of Abram’s heart, he agreed. He quickly heeded to the wrong suggestion from the one whom he loved most in this world. He didn’t show the tenacity to stand against her suggestion which was expressly against the promises of God and His perfect will. Likewise, we are all tempted through powerful suggestions day after day to make decisions against the will of God and the Word of God. We need to be careful and develop the spiritual strength to resist the devil that approaches us through various means. Our spiritual strength can come only through God’s Word and His Spirit. We must wait by faith for God’s time to come in God’s own way rather than go after the temptations which come through irresistible avenues. It is here that we face the greatest test of our true faith and trust in the Lord.
Dear reader, are you being tempted through powerful suggestions to follow logic, intellect and the pressures of circumstances, situations and time to act without faith? Perhaps you are afraid that you will be mocked if you do not prove to be smart through your most intelligent decisions at the right time because you feel that time is running out on you? It might come in the form of a job which a child of God should not engage in or a business or marriage proposal which is expressly against the commandment of God. It probably comes in the form of unholy friendship with the world and the desire for popularity and possessions it offers. It might guarantee to solve all your financial problems in the shrewd worldly ways. Remember, when God had plans to lift up Jacob to be in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, Rebecca overshot it all through her own plan, thus creating misery for all who were involved in it. Remember also that Sarai’s suggestion was one of the byproducts of Abram’s escape to Egypt to save his life when God had other plans. Hagar was planted as an alternative in the family of Abram as a result of his visit to Egypt and the enemy used her at his best time through Sarai’s suggestion. Dear friend, are you being tempted to take detours in your life of faith to accomplish what God has promised in His own way? Abram, Sarai and Hagar stand before us as great warning lest we might fall. Today let the Word of the Lord be our guiding light rather than any utterance of the most powerful influence. God has His own way at His time to accomplish what He has planned for our lives and He will never relent. While He waits, He is not inactive or passive. He is only preparing persons and situations to be involved in His plan for us. Above all, He is preparing us to receive the promise in total humility, brokenness and repentance. Let us pray for strength to resist the suggestions which are against God’s will and ask for strength to wait for His ways at His time.
2 Corinthians 1:20 – For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
Thought for Today
When we are filled with God’s Word and His Spirit, we will get divine strength to resist any powerful suggestion against God’s perfect will.
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