own understanding when difficult circumstances
arise and stifle the faith of God. Trust
in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean
not unto thine own understanding. In all
thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall
direct thy paths (Proverbs 3:5,6).
Relying on your human understanding can
be a stumbling block in your relationship
with God. Instead of believing, trusting and
obeying God, you stumble along trying to
reason things out within yourself or with other
people; and that allows fear of the unknown to
move in. Then your imagination will run wild
with weak thoughts; and eventually, you will
lose your trust in God.
Sarah Didn’t Wait on God
Sarah and Abraham believed God when He
promised them a son. Through faith also
Sara herself received strength to conceive
seed, and was delivered of a child when she
was past age, because she judged him faithful
who had promised (Hebrews 11:11).
They had to wait 25 long years for that
promise to be fulfilled; and during that time,
their faith in God was severely tested. As the
years passed, there was one time when their
trust in God wavered. Sarah started to get
impatient with God, and she devised a plan to
try to fulfill His promise to them her way. She
took the situation out of God’s hands, and that
always leads to trouble.
Sarah gave her handmaid, Hagar, to Abraham
in hopes that Hagar would conceive a
son, and she did; but that was not what God
had promised. Sarah soon became so jealous
of Hagar and her son that she urged Abraham
to cast them out, and that brought him much
sorrow and grief.
When God was finally ready to fulfill His
promise to Sarah and Abraham, Sarah did
conceive a son, Isaac, even though she was
way past the age of childbearing. Always
remember that when you follow God’s will
for your life, His promises will be fulfilled His
way and in His time.
Children of God will be tried and tested in
this life. Will you trust God and His promises,
or will you be full of fear and live in your
feelings? Will you believe God, or will you
doubt Him and draw back on Him? Now the
just shall live by faith: but if any man draw
back, my soul shall have no pleasure in
him. But we are not of them who draw back
unto perdition; but of them that believe to
the saving of the soul (Hebrews 10:38,39).
Abraham Chose God’s Way
When trials and troubles come, do you obey
God and His Word completely; or do you pick
and choose which parts you want to obey?
Some people will obey the Lord when it’s
convenient for them, but they don’t want to
obey Him if they have to sacrifice or suffer.
There are those who say they believe in God,
yet they don’t want to obey His Word that says
they must separate from the world, live holy
and righteous and receive the baptism of the
Holy Ghost.
God put Abraham to a great test when He
told him to go to Mount Moriah and sacrifice
Isaac for an offering unto Him. Abraham had
waited 25 years for God to give him Isaac,
and then God asked him to kill his beloved
son. How would you have responded to such
a request? Would you have ignored it or even
turned your back on God?
Surely, Abraham was taken aback at first;
but he possessed such deep-rooted love for
and trust in God that the next day, he set out
on his journey to obey God. Abraham had
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