Fix It Or Give It To God?

When he [Abram] was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you… Genesis 12:11-13 ESV

Abram launched into problem-solving mode. It was common for those high up in powerful positions to seize and plunder others’ wives and belongings. Surely an Egyptian king would take beautiful Sarai for his own. To protect her, Abram saw deceit as his only answer. Why didn’t he ask God to change the king’s heart? He had already trusted God with bigger things.

While Abram’s error may seem obvious because it’s about him, it’s not when it’s about me. If I have a history of making things work to go my way, I won’t even think of trusting God with something of high consequence. I’ll force things, make a mess, and then when I’ve hit a wall, I’ll turn to crisis prayers.

More times than I can count, I’ve been hemmed in. At that moment, I said ~ “Something has got to be done now!”  Waiting on God seemed reckless. The stakes seemed too high so I stepped in to try to solve it myself. But there is always another choice. Instead of forcing things, even coercing people to comply with my solutions, I can turn to God and wait for him to move in the hearts of other people. 

After Abram took matters into his own hands, things fell apart. When it escalated to a life and death situation, God stepped in. How much suffering would have been avoided if trusting God had been his initial response.

I always want to do something rash to bring relief. But I’m stopping. I’m trusting You to and weave a plan that will bring wings to me and glory to You. Amen