Anything short of complete trust in the Lord’s instructions will ultimately lead to regret. Stop living a life of thinking “if only.”
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SHAUNA: This is Shauna on Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. When something goes wrong, do you rush right in and try to fix it?
JONI: Well, hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and if that is your tendency, I’m with you on it. I’m a fix-it person. If Ken has a problem, I am already on it, giving advice or telling him that, “Oh, you know, sweetheart, I’ve had that happen to me, here, let me show you.” And then I’m off and running. And you know what’s really funny about it? Sometimes, my husband doesn’t even want the silly problem to be fixed. He just wants me to listen. And right there, if you are a fix-it person like me, therein lies the rub: we do not listen.
Like Sarah and Abraham from the Bible; they were in the same league. Like so many of us, they were guilty of buying things from the “Do-It-Yourself” Depot of life that says, “I can solve that; I can fix that; I’ll take responsibility for that; here, let me take care of that!” I mean, just consider what happened in the book of Genesis. The story of Abraham teaches one big lesson on how quickly we humans seek solutions to problems apart from God. First, when time began to pass after God had promised that Abraham and Sarah would have children, Sarah got tired of waiting. She assumed that the Lord was keeping her from having children, and so she devises her own plan to solve the problem, telling her slave to sleep with her husband. “That way,” she says, “perhaps I can finally build a family.” She takes matters into her own hands and Abraham goes along with it. And when a son is born to her slave, that only confuses the matter. Because later on, in Genesis 17, Abraham laments his mistake and says to God, “Oh, if only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” In other words, he’s saying, “God, if only you would bend a little bit and accept what I have already done.”
Well, too bad for Abraham that he didn’t listen to the Lord the first time around. Though he had been promised a son, Abraham and his wife sought a solution apart from God. And in his haste to please the Lord, Abraham realizes that he’s blown it. You can hear the regret in his words “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing.” Or if only my solution were pleasing to you. If only my way had been the right way. If only my idea had been good enough. But God would not abide by Abraham’s solution. God was the one who made the promise and He was going to carry it out. Abraham and Sarah would have a son, but in the Lord’s own time and in the way the Lord wanted it done. True, God ultimately fulfilled that promise, but not without Abraham trying to take things into his own hands which, by the way, ended up creating a real mess between Isaac and Ishmael. Abraham’s do-it-yourself solution has repercussions even in our day. The Middle East might be a safer place had Abraham trusted God fully.
So, what about the promises that God has made to you? Like the promise that He will give you life more abundant? Well, He intends to fulfill that promise to you. So, make certain that you are not trying to fulfill it with a do-it-yourself lifestyle. Do not take matters into your own hands, especially as it concerns the abundant Christian life. Before you try a “do-it-yourself” approach to what will make you happy or you think content, stop and ask God. Compare it with God’s Word and His character. Because anything short of complete trust in the Lord’s instructions will ultimately lead to regrets. Because “if only” living is really no living at all.
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