Genesis 17:18-19 (NLT) So Abraham said to God, “May Ishmael live under your special blessing!” But God replied, “No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant.”

The way that God works is beyond our thinking and our expectations. When God spoke to Abraham to be more specific about His promise to give him many descendants, He told Abraham that it would be through his wife, Sarah, that his descendants would come (Genesis 17:15-16). But there were two looming obstacles to that declaration. First, Sarah was barren and couldn't have any children. Second, she was ninety years old and way past the age of childbearing. God's words to Abraham were just too hard to process. So Abraham sought to help God out by suggesting that God make Ishmael the child of the promise. This was the child that was born to Sarah's servant Hagar. Sarah had gotten desperate in her waiting for the promise that God had given Abraham and fifteen years earlier, had arranged for Hagar to bear a son for her with him. God never told Abraham or Sarah to do that, and this was not at all in God's perfect plan for them. Now, fifteen years later, Abraham attempted to suggest his idea to God because it would be easier to believe that God would bless a son that was already born than to believe that God would do the impossible and give a son to him through his barren wife, Sarah. But God quickly corrected Abraham and reiterated that the blessing of the promise would be through Sarah and even told Abraham what the child's name would be. As we know, what God declared came to pass.

When we are waiting on God for something, whether it is something that we have asked for or something that God has promised, we, like Abraham, tend to try to help God out by giving Him suggestions as to how He can accomplish what we asked for or what He promised. We don't stop to think of the ridiculousness of doing that. How can we, who don't know what will happen even ten minutes into the future, have any inkling of how to work out God's plan to make something happen? Knowing how God has worked in the past, along with having the scriptures to recount the miraculous ways that God works, shouldn't we be embarrassed to even make a suggestion to God or to tell Him our bright idea? But just like Abraham did, we plod ahead and tell God what we think He should do and how He should do it. Thank the Lord that He is so patient with us and that He just ignores our foolishness many times. Just as He told Abraham no, He tells us no and then unfolds His incredible plan in our lives. Once we see it come to fruition, we are ever so grateful that He didn't take our suggestion.

When it comes to God's promises and to things that we have asked for in prayer, leave everything in God's hands. Don't waste brain juice to come up with a plan to make anything happen the way that you think it should happen. Trust God with all of your heart and let Him do what He is going to do in the way that He is going to do it. You will save yourself a lot of worry and anxiety while learning to rely on God with no holds barred.

Pastor Joey Vazquez