Ishmael, Ishmael, Ishmael

When Jeff and I decided we were going to do a joint blog, I was really excited. We sort of talked about what we wanted it to look like. The idea is to pick a topic or verse and we would both do a separate post relating to that post. Because of his time restraints, we decided he would post first and then the next day, or day after, I would post mine. We are happy to be working on this together, yet separately.

Immediately after planning the way this would work, God spoke Ishmael to Jeff, so that is our fist topic. To be honest, I thought, Ishmael? Why not something easy like Revelation? (Just in case you’re not sure of my sense of humor – that’s a joke!) The topic of Ishmael can be complicated, deep and … But, since God spoke Ishmael to Jeff, Ishmael it is!

In a way, I feel bad for Ishmael. I mean he didn’t ask to be born to the circumstances he was, and he is forever known as the non-chosen one. Thousands of years later, Ishmael continues to remind us of what happens when we try to help God. Just think of how much better off we would be, if we’d only remember that God is capable of bringing His promises to pass, without our help. Examining the whole Abraham/Sarah/Hagar/Ishmael/Isaac situation should make that clear – that battle is still being fought today!

The thing is, when God gives us a promise, we should trust Him. His Word assures us of this. It says in Num. 23:19, “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” Of course the answer to these questions is a resounding “NO!” We have to determine if God’s Word is Truth. And if we determine that His Word is Truth, then that has to include all of His Word.

Now, I will not pretend that I am above trying to help God out a little. I’m just as guilty of doing that as Sarah was. But God, in His goodness and mercy, has covered me with His grace and has patiently shown me, or waited for me to figure out, that His way, and His timing is best. I’d like to say it happened only once and then I’d learned my lesson. I’d like to say that, but it’s not really true. The truth is that there have been many times I’ve had a promise from God or He has shown me what He’s doing in my life and then in my exuberance and haste, I sort of take over. And it never works out the way I’d like it too. Honestly, I don’t mean to take over and I certainly don’t mean to tell God (in not so many words) that I’m better capable of handling it than He is (‘cause that is soooo not true), but really that’s what I’m doing when I take matters into my own hands.

The amazing thing though, is that even when we doubt, meddle, or are unfaithful to Him and His promises, God is faithful to us. Always. We are assured of this in 2 Tim 2:13, “If we are unfaithful, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny who He is.” When I meddle and try to help Him out a bit, I don’t mess things up for Him, I mess things up for me. But even then, God is bigger than my meddling and if I just get out of His way, eventually His will for me, or His promise to me, will come to pass. He can accomplish what I cannot. He can open doors that no man can open and close doors that no man can close (Rev. 3:7-8). If I will let it, His purpose for my life will prevail.

The key to all of this goes back to trust. Do I trust Him to bring it to pass? Do I trust Him to work it all out? Do I trust His timing? Even when it seems to take a long, long, long time? Once more the Bible assures me I can. In Hab. 2:2-3, it reads “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” No doubt it can be discouraging waiting on something that God has promised us or that we want so badly, but if we don’t wait on God, it is then that we produce, or give birth to, an Ishmael instead of an Isaac.

It is easy for me to see in my own life where I did get an Isaac, when I very easily could have gotten an Ishmael. I was unmarried until I was thirty-three years old. I began to think I would never get married. Since I didn’t become a Christian until I was thirty and God had some serious work to do in me, that is really actually a good thing. But I was lonely and I wanted to get married badly. I had had several relationships that didn’t work out. I often say that I dated a lot of frogs (that could have become Ishmaels) but I finally got my prince (my Isaac). God allowed me to remain alone until the time was right, so He could give me the one He had for me – my Isaac, my Jeff. And in the end, he really was worth the wait.

I sincerely hope I’m through birthing Ishmaels in my own life, but I know that if I mess up, and go before God again, or try to help him out, God’s grace will cover me. He knows my heart is to be in His will, and He knows I know that my life works out better when He’s in charge, so He does forgive me when I fail. But I think I’m getting better at waiting on Him, and while I have not yet completely reached this goal, I am on my way!

Ishmael Moments

About a week ago while I was at work, God spoke the name Ishmael to me. At first, I didn’t know exactly what He meant about it. But as I thought about it, Ishmael represents what comes out of the decisions that we make. Most of us know the story in Genesis of Sarah, Abraham and Hagar who then gave birth to Ishmael. Abraham and Sarah had heard a word from the Lord but didn’t believe that it would happen and went to try to make it happen in their own way.

In my personal reflection seeking Him, I’ve looked back at decisions made, some more significant and life altering than others, but each holds a choice. I believe that He gives us freedom to choose and at times, either choice is just that. No right or wrong, just simply a choice. Kind of like “you say tomato, I say tomato” type of thing. Depending on where you were raised, you may say the word differently if you’re from a different part of the country. But there are other choices that we make on a regular basis and they are tests. Tests to see if we will seek God’s will for us or not. And at the root of each choice, I believe lives an Isaac or an Ishmael.

Have you ever experienced one of those moments? You’re going down the road of life and a choice comes up. You pray about it, asking God for His direction and you reach a point where you have to choose. You can’t put it off any longer. You know that procrastination will force a decision; that which is in question will not remain in question forever. In fact opportunities come and go and procrastinating is simply a “no” waiting to happen; and in fact it is also a decision! But you really want to hear from God and there are so many distractions getting in the way. You get to a point when you’ve prayed about something, think you’ve heard from God and you step out in faith and WHAM! Next thing you know, an Ishmael is born! It can be big things or small. Like the other day when Tracy had a bowl of cereal. It sounded good but she’s been watching what she eats and wanted something healthier also. It’s not one of those that is mostly sugar with a little rice or corn thrown in; it was the “O’s”; one of the healthier choices in cereal to eat. But she went for the cereal and after eating was still hungry. BAM! There’s another Ishmael! For some of these choices, you repent and they are gone in a couple of days. Others though, stay with you for the rest of your life!

Now, I’m not talking about choices that didn’t work out the way you thought they should. Remember, God is sovereign and makes a way out when there is no way; His plans ultimately prevail even though it may take some time to bear fruit. And besides, while I don’t believe God desires harm to come upon us, He does ask us to be faithful, and difficult times show the depth of our faithfulness to Him.

What I’m talking about are the ones where you’re undecided. You know one thing but something about it has you doubting; you're thinking and weighing of the issues leads you to believe something else could be better for you. Before you know it, an Ishmael is conceived and delivered into your open arms. So full of joy only to discover it was really your plan and not God’s. You ask “now what am I going to do?”

I don’t have all the answers to the questions, but I believe there are some key things we need to do. First, we need to set aside our hurts and frustrations which lead to blaming someone else or ourselves for the situation. We’ll accept nothing else about the situation as long as we are holding onto the pain associated with it. Then we need to recognize and admit the truth so that we can repent. Sometimes we don’t recognize the truth immediately and we need to ask God to show us where we took the wrong turn. Yes, we made a mistake and now we need to forgive ourselves and others, and ask for God to forgive us. For some reason, one of the hardest things for people to do is to admit their mistakes and ask for forgiveness. Once these steps are taken, the restoration can begin. Part of the restoration process involves trusting yourself to hear from God and not make the same mistakes.

One of the things I’m starting to do is write down the things I believe He’s telling me so that I can refer back when needed. This way, my fears and doubts stop ruling my decisions and I will build greater confidence or faith in God as these things come to pass. Over and over, the reality is that if I had waited and didn’t have an Ishmael, what I heard from God would have come to pass in time and I wouldn’t be spending so much time cleaning up my messes.