Genesis 16:1-3 "Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife."
God had made a promise to Abram that he would be blessed with a large family. Abram believed this promise. His journey from Ur at God’s command was an example of his belief in all that God had promised. Yet, here we are ten years later, and there is still no heir.
Sarai loved Abram, and she wanted him to have an heir. She acknowledged that God had held her back (restrained) from having children. So she decided she needed to help the situation along. She presented her Egyptian handmaid to Abram as a surrogate.
She gave Hagar to Abram to be his wife. Abram listened to Sarai. He joined in an intimate relationship with Hagar. If you continue to read this chapter, you will find that Hagar soon became pregnant.
Even though Abram believed God, do you see someone vital missing in this part of the narrative? We can believe God and still fail to wait on Him. When things do not happen in our preconceived time frame, we are tempted to wonder if God forgot. Or maybe we need to go ahead and do something to get the ball rolling. Surely God did not mean for it to take this long!
Sarai meant to be doing something good. Abram wished to honor and please Sarai. Neither of these things in themselves was bad. Leaving God’s guidance out of these plans was disastrous. As you continue to read about this part of Abram’s journey, you will see that a lot of sorrow and confusion was the end result.
Does this narrative sound familiar? How many times do we decide that God might need a little nudge or just a little help to keep His promise? I pray that He will give me the grace and patience to wait upon His timing in my life. I readily admit that I have not always done so, and it never worked out well. May you be encouraged today in whatever you are facing to wait upon the LORD and trust His timing.