There's Hope For TodaySample

Solomon, a man of some experience with women, wrote: Better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, than in a house shared with a contentious woman (Prov. 21:9). Sarai was desperately unhappy, impatient, and self-pressured. Her biological clock was ticking so loudly she could not hear the voice of faith and reason whispering in her heart. God had promised a son, but with the passing of each month, her sense of hopelessness deepened.

Finally, and fatally, she took matters into her own hands. Hagar, the maidservant, was a slave, and thus, Sarai’s property. Sarai was simply applying a cultural remedy to the problem of barrenness. The choosing of a surrogate wrote the first chapter in a tale of suffering and hatred that continues to this day.

Whenever we try to improve on God’s plan, or rush to shortcut God’s design, we end up with a solution that fails to satisfy, and consequences we could have never imagined. Sarai found no comfort in the birth of Ishmael – quite the opposite, her discontent spread like a cancer. No doubt, Abraham was open to any remedy. His house was not a happy place.

Think twice before you tinker with God’s plans and promises. Your short-term solution may birth a long-term tragedy.