Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
Faith Does Not Scheme
How wonderful to know that when God has a will, God has a way. If God wants you to do something, then God also has a way for you to accomplish what He wants you to do. Sometimes people are submitted to the will of God, but then they try to force their own way to accomplish God’s purpose.
Genesis 15:1 says, “After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” God is both our protection and our provision. Therefore, God is able to make it clear to us what He wants us to do and to provide for us the way to do it.
God had told Abram he was going to be the father of a great nation. At this time, Abram wasn’t even the father of a great family let alone a great nation. So, Abram tried to help God out. For instance, Abram brings up his servant, Eliezer, and seems to be thinking, “Lord, I believe that You are going to give me a great family which begins with an heir. But, since You haven’t chosen to give me a son, how about using Eliezer as my heir?” God says to him, “This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.” God is trying to tell Abram, “Abram, when I have a will, I have a way. If I have something in mind for you, I am capable of accomplishing that as you follow Me a step at a time.”
In the next chapter, we find them again faltering. Again, Abram continues to try to help God accomplish His plan by taking Sarah’s handmaid, Hagar, as a wife. Abram knew that God had a will, and Abram knew that God intended to give him a child to be his heir. But Abram was trusting himself to accomplish God’s purpose.
Here’s a truth that will help us: God is able to accomplish His will in His own way. If God has something in mind, then God has a way to accomplish what it is that He has in mind. Living by faith means submitting both to God’s will and to God’s way of accomplishing His will. Faith does not scheme. I don’t need to make things happen when it is God Who has a plan in mind.
Today, you can rest in God’s will, and be sure that if God’s will is worth doing, it is worth doing in God’s way. God is able to accomplish His purpose in His way in His time. We can rest in that.