brother ; and it shall come to pass , when you become restless , that you shall break his yoke from your neck .” ~ Genesis 27:35-40 NKJV
Let no one become immoral or unspiritual like Esau , who for a single meal sold his rights as the older son . Afterward , you know , he wanted to receive his father ' s blessing ; but he was turned back , because he could not find any way to change what he had done , even though in tears he looked for it ~ Hebrews 12:16-17 GNT
Sarah , Abraham ' s wife , also found herself in a desperate situation . Throughout her child bearing age , she had never conceived and she had lived without a child to call her own for the longest time possible . Just like any other married woman , she needed a child desperately . I believe that her desperation got into her head and it affected her feelings of security and status in the society based on the fact that barrenness was a major issue during her time . Sons in particular were needed to carry on the family name and livelihood , and she had none . God had already promised Abraham a son , but I believe that Sarah got tired of waiting and finally concluded that God was preventing her from bearing children . This led her to come up with a scheme that was purely humane and fleshly .
So she said to Abram , “ The Lord has kept me from having children . Go , sleep with my slave ; perhaps I can build a family through her .” ~ Genesis 16:2 NIV
She successfully persuaded her husband to father a child by her own housemaid , thanks to her desperation . Abraham listened to her and did what she suggested . But as soon as Hagar conceived , she knew that she had committed a grave mistake . Hagar suddenly changed and began to despise her . Abraham did not do much to solve the issue , but let Sarah deal with Hagar her own way , and she did .
“ Your slave is in your hands ,” Abram said . “ Do with her whatever you think best .” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar ; so she fled from her ~ Genesis 16:6 NIV
Who has never found herself or himself in a desperate situation ? I believe all of us have . Desperation , if not handled with discernment , understanding and godly wisdom , can lead many to destruction . It has the power to release negative or positive energy into our lives . There are many today who are regretting their decisions because they made them out of desperation and lived with the consequences . I have found that one of the greatest catalysts of negative energy when one is faced with a desperate situation is impatience .
Rachael in the book of Genesis 29:30 is one woman who was desperate . Just like Sarah , she needed a baby . There was nothing wrong with her desire to have a baby , but she wanted a child so badly that it ended up straining her relationship with her sister and her husband . She also made desperate decisions which compromised her morals .
Sometimes God closes our ways and chooses to withhold blessings from us for His purposes and plans and most of these times , we are led to think that we have done something bad or that we are being punished for some sin we committed and maybe never confessed . At such times we may do anything and everything we can to get ourselves out of that mess that we did not create in the first place . However , things become unbearable and hard . We lose focus , become frustrated and discouraged and begin to doubt God and every single promise He has made to us . Our solutions can neither last nor solve anything . We need to realize and discern the will of God for us because if He pushes us to the corner , He will be the one to get us out of there . In a bid to solve our issues , we end up hurting ourselves , and Sarah ’ s case was no different . I believe it ’ s wise to just take a step back and assess a situation before it becomes an obsession that will consume us and lead us down the wrong road .
If we are mature enough to understand God ’ s timing for us and how He works , we will have the patience and humility to wait on Him until He shows up . There are many who have developed resentment for God simply because according to them , He ’ s late or He has made them wait longer than they should . Others are busy nursing bitterness and jealousy because God blessed the other and not them . Rachael acted the way she acted because of the blessings of God in the life of Leah . She didn ’ t call on God ; instead , she became jealous of her sister and lashed out on her husband . Trust and faith in God is extremely important in our walk with Him .
The negative energy of desperation is extremely dangerous because it is self-centered . It ’ s all about Me , Myself and I ; what I want , what I must have , what I cannot live without . Jesus tells us to forget
5