Daily Devotionals for Women - Today's Encouraging Word from Scripture

FIXING IT MYSELF OR TRUSTING 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

Abram makes a surprising choice, really. He believes he’s got to fix things himself. It was common for the powerful to seize and plunder another’s wife and belongings. Surely an Egyptian king would take beautiful Sarai for his own. To protect her, Abram sees deceit as the only answer.

Why wouldn’t he count on God to change the king’s heart? He had already made giant steps of faith to trust God with bigger things. He had stepped away from everything familiar and comfortable to a life that could only be revealed by someone more powerful than himself. On something this petty, by comparison, he will take control?

While it may seem ludicrous when it’s about Abram, 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 so small. I’ll force things, make a mess emotionally, and then when relationships unravel and the stakes are high, I’ll turn to crisis prayers.

There may be a situation today where I say, “Something has got to be done now! I can’t let this go!” It will probably be similar to other things in the past that I’ve stepped in to control. But there will be a new choice available to me. Instead of forcing people to comply, I can turn to God in prayer and wait for him to change another’s heart. The first option brings stress. The second option gives me wings.

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

You see my anxiety, Lord. I want to do something rash to bring deliverance. But I’m stopping. I’m trusting You to and weave a plan that will bring wings to me and glory to You. Amen.

For more from Christine Wyrtzen and Jaime Wyrtzen Lauze, please visit www.daughtersofpromise.org