FINDING ALTERNATIVES? - Wednesday May 3rd 2017
Memorise: Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. Proverbs 3:7
1 Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath
restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be
that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of
Sarai.
3 And
Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had
dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram
to be his wife.
4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
Bible in one year: Numbers 34-36, Jeremiah 25:1-16, Hymn: Sing hymn 4
MESSAGE:
After
several years of waiting for God’s promise to be fulfilled, Sarah sat
down one day, had a long thinking session, and came up with an
alternative plan which she presented to Abraham, and He accepted it. She
had been barren for several years and was now obviously tired of being
in that state; hence, she decided to give Hagar, one of her salves, to
her husband hoping to get a child through this arrangement. How mistaken
she was! Sarah’s experience has a lot to teach contemporary Christians.
When God is leading you in a certain direction, or if He has made a
promise to you, any contrary opinion or alternative is borne out of
impatience, doubt or unbelief. It’s when people can no longer wait for
God’s plan that they come up with their own alternatives. Open Heavens
2017 Wednesday 3 May 2017:-Finding alternatives. One lesson from this
story is that man’s alternative charts a new course for you, which can
take you completely out of God’s original plan.
Just
like Abraham and Sarah, many people have come up with alternatives that
have landed them at destination they never expected. But for God’s
patience and mercy, the step Abraham and Sarah took was enough to derail
from God’s original course. Today’s open heavens message. The reason
why the Holy Spirit says in Proverbs 3:5-6 that you should subordinate
your plans under God’s will is so that He can guide you along His
original plan for your life. Believe it or not, God has a plan for your
life (Jeremiah 1:4-5). If you follow this plan, you will definitely obey
God’s word and remain in His will. God’s word never negates His will
for your life (James 1:18). The question is, “Are you still in God’s
plan?”
To
keep within God’s will, you must be filled with His word and His
Spirit, prayerful, watchful, thankful and humble. Why? The natural man
within you will always come up with alternatives to God’s perfect plan
for your life. You need to be watchful because some alternatives may
look like the original plan, but in essence, they are miles apart. If
you will access God’s perfect plan for your life, then you must leave no
space for the flesh or the devil to give you an alternative. You must
trust, rely on and completely depend upon God. God’s choice is always
the safe choice. For this reason Proverbs 29:25b says,
“… but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.”
If
you depend on God 99% and leave 1% for an alternative, that is enough
to derail you. Never reply on what you think you know or your assessment
of the situation. No matter how brilliant your ideas may be, God has
something better. Bring your plans before God’s searchlight and let Him
tell you if it’s okay or not.
Action Point
Has impatience made you pursue your own alternatives? Stop and beat a retreat today?
Open Heaven Daily Devotional, written by Pastor E.A Adeboye,
The
General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the
largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ
the Redeemer's Ministries. 
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