Scripture: Genesis 16:1-2
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no
children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; so she said to Abram, “The
Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can
build a family through her.”
Whose fault is it when bad things happen to you?
Who can you point the finger at and pin the blame on?
Sarai was unfortunate enough not to have ever had children
even though she desperately wanted them. In this conversation with her husband,
she blames God for her misfortune, saying that God has kept her from having
children.
The Bible doesn't say that God had anything to do
with Sarai's inability to conceive. It may have simply been a bad thing that
happened to her. But instead of accepting her situation for the natural
condition it was, she pointed the finger at God.
When she decided – note that God didn't give her
this idea – to have Abram sleep with Hagar, she was jealous of the resulting
pregnancy and blamed Abram, saying he was responsible for the situation.
When she mistreated Hagar, she was responsible for
Hagar running away.
In all of these instances, Sarai tried to blame
someone for her problems instead of simply accepting them and dealing with them
maturely.
We all have problems. Bad things happen to us. But
at no time is God the source of those bad things happening. God loves us and
only wishes to bless us. In fact, if Sarai would have been patient, she would
have found God blessing her with her own child soon enough.
God does not cause bad things to happen to us. But
if we will be patient and conduct ourselves maturely instead of blaming Him and
others for our misfortunes, He will eventually help us.
What situations can you recall God helping you
with? Can you have faith enough to know that He's going to help again?
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Find your next reading on my Devotions page!
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