Do We Have an ‘Ishmael’ That Needs to Be Removed?
“And He took him outside and said,
(Genesis 15: 5-6 NASB)
[The LORD, El Shaddai, took Abram outside his tent.]
“Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.”
And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
It’s a fact—We humans have the ability to ‘screw up’ that which the Lord has predetermined to be “Good.” We can run too fast, walk toward something too slow, give up too quickly, drag our feet too long, and even turn and walk away from something or someone too soon when we really should not.
- What situations in our lives need to be prayed over—rather than ignored, abandoned, or crushed?
- What promise has God given to us that we need to kneel in prayer over—rather than running from, ignoring, or trying to accomplish in our power today?
“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children,
(Genesis 16: 1-2 & 4 NASB)
and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar.
So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children.
Please go in to my maid;
perhaps I will obtain children through her.”
And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
. . .
He went in to Hagar, and she conceived;
and when she saw that she had conceived,
her mistress was despised in her sight.”
- Do we really believe what the Holy Bible says—the work the Holy Spirit is doing within us, perfecting us, preparing us, sanctifying us—until the Lord sends His angels to collect us for our heavenly home?
- Do we have obstacles to our faith—standing in the way—to walking more closely with the Lord?
- Do we have individuals in our lives—distracting us from the work of the Lord—what He has led us to do in accomplishing His will?
- Do we have sins within our secret places—sins we need to lay upon the altar, sacrificing to the Lord—so we can experience the freedom of walking again anew?
“The angel of the LORD said to her further,
(Genesis 16: 11-12 NASB)
[The LORD spoke to Hagar when she fled from the mistreatment of her mistress Sarai]
“Behold, you are with child,
And you will bear a son;
And you shall call his name Ishmael,
Because the LORD has given heed to your affliction.
He will be a wild donkey of a man,
His hand will be against everyone,
And everyone’s hand will be against him;
And he will live to the east of all his brothers.”
El Shaddai is the name of God!
El Shaddai is all—powerful!
El Shaddai is all-sufficient!
El Shaddai is our God who can do anything & who can meet any need!
Do We Have—
- Obstacles to our faith—standing in the way—of a closer walk with the LORD?
- Individuals in our lives—distracting us—from the work of the Lord?
- Sins within our secret places—sins we need to lay upon the altar—sacrificing to the Lord?
Do We Have an—Ishmael—something, anything—That We Have Allowed to Take Up Residence in Our Lives—something, anything—That We Need to Allow to Die Within Us So God Can Move in a Mighty Way Through Us?
“Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age;
(Genesis 18: 11-14 & 21: 1-3 NASB)
Sarah was past childbearing.
Sarah laughed to herself, saying,
“After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
And the LORD said to Abraham,
“Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’
Is anything too difficult for the LORD?
At the appointed time I will return to you,
at this time next year, and
Sarah will have a son.”
. . .
Then the LORD took note of Sarah as He had said,
and the LORD did for Sarah as He had promised.
So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age,
at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him.
Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him,
whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.”
- The secret of walking before GOD is found in OBEDIENCE!
- The way to walk with the LORD is found in COMPLETE WORSHIP!
- The way to yield to the timing of EL SHADDAI is found in YIELDING EVERYTHING TO HIM!
Who are we to ever exclaim, “I’ll do this life, my way!”