Genesis 17:18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee
On my sixth birthday, I received a gift of a little Evel Knievel motorcycle. It wasn’t real, of course. It was a small, plastic toy. Evel Knievel was a daredevil. He used to jump buses and cars and try to jump the Grand Canyon on his motorcycle. The gears in this little motorcycle allowed you to wind it up, put in on the ground, and let it go on its own. Well, on the same day I received this gift, we went to the beach, and I brought my new Evel Knievel motorcycle. I promptly ruined it because I tried to run that motorcycle on the sand. Now, I had the motorcycle for some time after that, but it never rolled on its on again because I got sand in the gears.
Oftentimes we do this with God’s plan for us. We throw sand in the gears. If you have ever done this, you are in good company because even Abram, later Abraham, who we would justly consider a man of great faith, sometimes faltered in his following of God’s plan. Instead of just saying, “Ok, God, I’ll do it. I will trust you to do your part,” he seems to have raised objections.
An example of this is God’s promise to Abraham that He would make of him a great nation through whom the whole world would be blessed. That was quite the promise because Abraham and Sarah didn’t even have a son. Eventually Abraham came to God with his own idea how God should do what He was doing. In essence, he was throwing sand in the gears. He wasn’t speeding things up. He was slowing things down.
For instance, in Genesis 15:1 God says, “I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” Abraham replied by saying, “LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing that I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?” He seemed to be saying, “Look, God, maybe you will give me a son or maybe you will give me an heir, but right now it just seems that the timing is not working out. Why not just take my servant Eliezer and let him be my heir.” God replied very directly, “No, the heir I am going to give you is going to come from your bowels.”
Later, Abraham and Sarah concocted this plan whereby perhaps the heir could come from another woman, not Sarah. Sarah gave to Abraham her handmaid, Hagar, so there could be an heir, the son of promise. Again, God came to Abraham and said, “No, the heir I am going to give you is going to come from you and from your wife Sarah.” Abraham kept throwing sand in the gears.
Later, in Genesis 17:18 Abraham exclaimed, “O that Ishmael may live before thee!” Ishmael was the son of Hagar. God blessed Ishmael, but he was not to be the heir. Abraham seemed to be saying, “Just take this son and let him be my heir.” In each case, instead of just obeying God and trusting Him with the consequences, he seemed to be throwing sand into the gears. The gears of God’s will are moving. Do not throw sand into the gears. Submission greases the wheels of God’s plan.
What does this look like? Sometimes it looks like patience. If you can trust God’s Word, then you can trust God’s timing. Again, I thank God for Abraham and Sarah. They are great examples of faith, but they are also examples of how even people of faith can falter sometimes. I don’t know that Abraham ever doubted that God would give the son He had promised. I do think Abraham may have doubted God’s timing, yet if you can trust God’s Word, you can trust God’s timing. If you can trust God’s promises, you can trust God’s timing. So, submission sometimes just looks like patience.
Sometimes submission looks like willingness. If you can trust God’s Word, you can trust God’s way. Abraham and Sarah had these great ideas of how they could fulfill God’s will their way. When you think about it, is it even God’s will if it is not God’s way? Someone has said, “Faith is living without scheming.” That is to say, as we do our part, we trust God fully to fulfill His plan, His purpose, and His will, and to do what we cannot. When we do what we should, God will do what we can’t. I can’t do all that needs to be done, but I can do everything God has commanded me to do.
Today, when you read God’s Word and you know what is right, begin with that. Don’t worry about what you don’t know. Worry about what you do know. Take action with what you do know, and don’t throw sand in the gears. Don’t protest, drag your feet, or come up with your own ideas. Trust God because submission greases the wheels of God’s plan.