Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise.
1COR3:18
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I was thinking of what to write for my last blog this month. I asked ChatGPT to help me with some blog prompts, and as I was going down the list, there was a suggestion to write about trusting God and waiting.
And I remembered that yesterday I read the story of how Ishmael came to be. How Abraham had received the promise of God, but his wife advised him to take her servant and bring an heir through that servant. Abraham did not consult God regarding this thing.
It made me think about the following:
We’re often advised to be mindful of who we listen to, and the voices who advise us; to be careful who we share information with… But do we ever talk about the voices of those we love, those we trust, who share our pain and our hardships, and whether to include them in our discretion?
Abraham’s bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh, made a terrible suggestion. Did it make Sarah an unwise, and a terrible woman? No. I think she was fatigued;I think she was frustrated, I think she was seeing her age and her husband’s age; I think she was at the end of her rope, and could not see how she would have her own child. I think she chose the option that made sense.
I thought to myself: why didn’t Abraham just inquire of the Lord? He was a question away. Instead, he allowed Sarah’s desperation, her worry, her rationale to bring forth what may not necessarily have been God’s choice. And look at the anger and frustration she experienced afterwards.
All Abraham had to do was ask God. He was the one who received the word that his descendants would be numerous. He was the one to whom God showed the future regarding his descendants’ 400 year enslavement.. Would God not have given him an answer regarding his wife’s suggestion?
We can absolutely be roped into taking decisions that God did not consent to, all because of peoples’ frustrations with us, or our own frustration with a delay. Yet, all that is required is to ask God; confirm with him. We ought to learn to inquire of the Lord for everything, not just when people we are not certain of, speak to us. We ought to be just as vigilant, if not more, with those we love. Why? I think it shows that we are sober, and we’re studying ourselves to be approved. I think it helps us not be partial to people. We naturally think that those we love cannot harm us, but in doing that we become the judges of evil, because we decide what evil looks and sounds like. It’s not to say we are to assume the worst in people, but look at how easily emotions can be swayed; how easily annoyed we can be, how easy it is to disapprove of someone’s actions, how quick we are to assume a matter. But in submitting ourselves to God, confirming with him what we have heard, we can operate in wisdom, and avoid future regrets. We become wise in the Lord. We are not easily ensnared by what we see and what we hear. We can endure the burden of time, rather than be coerced - as a result of time- into premature decisions.
I think relationships may become a bit easier to manage, too. We learn to guard our hearts; we are not offended by people, nor are we manipulated by their sentiments, their words, their emotions. Their actions towards us will not go down into our spirits because we have become shrewd. I think as we get better at this, people pleasing is removed from us, because pleasing God becomes paramount. When we enquire of God in regards to a matter, we’re submitting to him, and showing that it’s not the human heart that we seek to please, but it’s His will that we wish to see carried out.
It’s certainly something to seriously consider. We are to be good stewards of our hearts and what God has given us. But we often stumble in this, because we don’t consult God in all things. We can’t rely on our own perception or reasoning. Submit your discernment to the one who gave it to you. Inquire if you have discerned a matter correctly.
Certainly, it’s easier said than done, but we are encouraged to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that easily ensnares us [and] run with perseverance…” (Hebrews12:1). This Christian journey requires perseverance. Moreover, because of how challenging it is, we have to steward well what is within our control in order to lighten the load of our cross. This portion the Lord cannot do it for us.
To conclude, I’m not saying God will always tell us what we want to hear. Look at Hagar. She ran away because she was being mistreated, but God required her to submit to the woman from whom she was running. And if God has directed you to a person, or people, or organization or whatever, then he will help you in it. Submit yourself to his counsel; inquire of Him in all things, and he will provide the tools to navigate that season. Seek his face in all matters and it will make navigating people, and this life, a little bit easier.
