You are a God Who Sees -

Gen. 15 & 16  Married life is never easy!

Oh what a wonderful message this morning as I read through Genesis 15 & 16. I was reminded of the beauty of our lives and the complexity of our decisions when God gives us options in how we ought to obey. What really struck me this morning is that God spoke directly to Abram yet His promise would affect Sarai, Hagar, Ishmael and all of his children who followed after.

One promise, that Abram's seed would number as many as the stars in heaven and yet, the impatience of one affected the lives of so many.

When I was a young wife some 20 years ago, I remember sharing a prayer request with a friend about our call to the mission field. I was so frustrated because I was about 2-3 steps ahead of Dwayne in the surrender process. I kept saying to my friend, " I don't understand? He says he wants to go yet he won't commit and surrender to the Call "officially" in church." We were praying together and after we finished praying she looked me in the eye and said, "Melissa - you do not want an Ishmael - so be patient and allow the Lord to work in Dwayne's life".

That day is seared in my mind. I took heed of that admonition and I kept silent. I did not talk about it with him, instead of working it into conversations I relied on the Lord to draw Dwayne to surrender and commit to the call we both felt and knew the Lord was calling us to.  The neat thing is He did! I just needed to allow the Lord to work it out in Dwayne.

Today you may be faced with a big decision maybe you can see the bigger picture, maybe the Lord has spoken and you are ready to walk in obedience if you are waiting on your spouse to meet you and join you in that decision - I encourage you to be patient. Wait! Wait! WAIT on the LORD! He will work with him or her and He will see it through to completion. It may take time, It may require some growth on both your parts but wait... pray and wait! It will be worth it to see the Lord accomplish His will in your lives. Just don't rush in and try to make it happen. The Lord doesn't want you to have suffer through an Ishmael either. So wait .... it will be worth it!