Genesis 16:2 – Obsessing Over Promises and Not God

Daily Devotional Bible Verse

And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. (Genesis 16:2 ESV)

From Ryan,

A good friend of mine adopted a boy who has been through some traumatic events in his life. He is a great kid and is full of life. One of his quirks, however, is that he becomes obsessed with things; it might be as simple as a card game or video game. Once, our families were together at a local minor league baseball game, and everyone was having a good time. A player randomly threw a ball to my friend’s son and he became completely obsessed with getting another one. He no longer cared about baseball, who won, or his friends around him. He just yelled for a ball every time a player had one by the bench, and he would race to beat the other kids for foul balls. He became obsessed with getting another ball and forgot why he was at the game in the first place. He was upset when we left because he didn’t get another ball.

I was reading today’s verse and the story I just told came to my mind. Abraham had been promised by God that he would be the father of many nations (Genesis 12:1-3). Unfortunately, he and his wife were getting old and didn’t have any kids yet, so how could this promise from God ever come to pass?

Instead of trusting in God and His promise, they grew impatient when He didn’t fulfill His promise in the time they expected Him. They decided to make things happen themselves because they didn’t believe could happen any other way. This caused much pain and hurt in their family as you continue to read the rest of the story. Of course, God does eventually & miraculously fulfill His promise and they have a child (Genesis 21:1-2).

Have you become so obsessed with a promise from God that you forget to actually trust Him for it? Instead of relying on God, are your thoughts and time so consumed with chasing this promise that you forget everything else around you, even God?

Remember that God’s promises to us through His word and Spirit are meant to bring us closer to Him through trust and reliance. Take comfort in that truth, and spend some time today praying for patience, strength and grace.