Daily Devotion

Genesis 17:17-21

Prayers of the Bible - Expressing the Desires of the Heart

God called Abraham and promised to make him the “father of many nations.”  Most importantly, God promised that from his descendants would come the one who would be a blessing for all peoples on earth—the Savior, Jesus Christ.  But as the years passed, Abraham wondered how God would fulfill his promises since he remained childless. In sinful weakness, Abraham took matters into his own hands and had a son with Hagar, his wife's maid.  However, God intervened and told Abraham clearly that the the promises he made would not be fulfilled through Ishmael.  Even at ages that were well passed childbearing years, God declared that Abraham and his wife Sarah would have a son born to them.  Abraham laughed with joy that God’s promise would be fulfilled soon.  At the same time, his thoughts turned toward his son, Ishmael, now that it was very clear that God’s covenant was not going to be fulfilled through him.  Abraham’s love for Ishmael prompted him to speak his heart's desire to God: "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!"

God's answer was, "Yes, but..." He told Abraham, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him."

When someone answers "Yes, BUT..." it makes me cringe. Usually it makes me cringe because I realize that the answer is going to be different than what I want. For Abraham it meant that Ishmael would not be the one through whom the covenant would be fulfilled, yet he would be blessed.

God's plan was different from Abraham's plan. God was faithful to his promise and he was going to make sure that the lineage of the Messiah would be accomplished by his power and not by man's scheming. God was going to use Isaac and his descendants to carry out his plan.

Like Abraham, we always have the freedom to express our heart's desire to the Lord. But like Abraham, we must learn to accept God's answers in the realization that he has a better plan.