Post by Michael James Stone on Jun 4, 2012 21:15:40 GMT -8
God always keeps His promises but in His time and in His way.
Leaders who have prayed about an issue and received a promise from God need to trust and not doubt.
Leaders tend to doubt when they look only at circumstances rather than trusting in God. Read Genesis 18:9-15 and Genesis 21:1-7.
Sarah was 89 and Abraham was 99 and they were still childless. Sarah, ease dropping at the door of their tent, heard a visitor tell Abraham that within a year he and Sarah would have a child.
When Sarah heard this she laughed to herself. Who wouldn’t have? Their circumstances were impossible. At just the moment of fulfillment to a life of clinging to God’s promise, Sarah doubted.
Every leader needs to hear what God said to Sarah in Genesis 18:14 “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
When the temptation to doubt, based on circumstances, confronts a leader, the wise leader reviews God’s promises to them and His track record in their personal history and in His Word with others who depended on His promises. Doubt needs to be dealt with as soon as it surfaces and it needs to be dealt with aggressively or the intensity of doubt will increase over time rather than diminishing. Effective leaders never doubt in the dark what God told them in the light.
It is really unfair to look at Sarah as an impertinent, impatient leader when the majority of her life was in obedience to God and in harmony with His plan but even outstanding leaders can learn from Sarah’s momentary lack of faith.
Impatient leaders need to learn what Sarah discovered – God always keeps His promises but in His time and His way.
Psalm 37:25 “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread.”
Leaders who have prayed about an issue and received a promise from God need to trust and not doubt.
Leaders tend to doubt when they look only at circumstances rather than trusting in God. Read Genesis 18:9-15 and Genesis 21:1-7.
Sarah was 89 and Abraham was 99 and they were still childless. Sarah, ease dropping at the door of their tent, heard a visitor tell Abraham that within a year he and Sarah would have a child.
When Sarah heard this she laughed to herself. Who wouldn’t have? Their circumstances were impossible. At just the moment of fulfillment to a life of clinging to God’s promise, Sarah doubted.
Every leader needs to hear what God said to Sarah in Genesis 18:14 “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
When the temptation to doubt, based on circumstances, confronts a leader, the wise leader reviews God’s promises to them and His track record in their personal history and in His Word with others who depended on His promises. Doubt needs to be dealt with as soon as it surfaces and it needs to be dealt with aggressively or the intensity of doubt will increase over time rather than diminishing. Effective leaders never doubt in the dark what God told them in the light.
It is really unfair to look at Sarah as an impertinent, impatient leader when the majority of her life was in obedience to God and in harmony with His plan but even outstanding leaders can learn from Sarah’s momentary lack of faith.
Impatient leaders need to learn what Sarah discovered – God always keeps His promises but in His time and His way.
Psalm 37:25 “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread.”