Magdy Samuel

Chapter 3: 6
Frustration and its reasons (2)

What were the other reasons that made Sarah suffer from frustration and forced her to adopt a wrong decision? There were three other motives that frustrated Sarah which could also expose us to similar frustration.

Third: An overlong wait
When Sarah and Abraham went out of Ur, they already had the promise for abundant blessings and offspring. Sarah, however, waited year after another to have the promise fulfilled. She was expecting it to happen anytime soon but when ten years passed, she lost hope and got frustrated, and that made her interfere to solve the problem on her own.

That’s what happens usually to us when we wait for an event or for a change in our life and the wait takes long. This overlong wait without any change or improvement leads us to failure and frustration.

However, dear reader, let’s wait for God. Although He is patient with us, but He will not abandon or forsake us.

Joseph has waited more than twenty years to have God accomplish his promise making him the head of his brothers.

Moses waited also about forty years for God to utilize him. Abraham has waited also for twenty five years to have God fulfill his promise of Isaac.

The disciples have waited until the fourth watch of the night to have God coming to them.

Wait for Him and trust that: Waiting is not a wasted time but it is a blessed occasion. May God, through the wait, teach us great lessons to strengthen our faith. "but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

Fourth: The abandon of hope
After immigrating to Canaan,
Sarah was waiting for ten years with the hope of having a son and to have God’s promise fulfilled. But in the tenth year she got over frustrated so she let Abraham marry Hagar. Most probably, in that year, Sarah saw herself growing up older and completely unable to produce of spring. Biologically it was impossible for her to get pregnant, while her husband was still able to have children thus she was falling hopeless.

Many times, we get frustrated when we discover our weak abilities and powerless possibilities and in our view, we see that God’s promise to us is impossible to realize. Then we say what Moses said to the Lord: "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." (Exodus 4:10)   0r like the one who came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler and said: "Your daughter is dead," he said. "Don't bother the teacher any more” (Luke 8:49) Or as what Paul said when he was inside the boat: "we finally gave up all hope of being saved” ( Acts27:20)

My dear brother, never depend on your personal abilities and possibilities which might be feeble and inefficient or even unavailable. Lift your eyes up to the Lord and look at the Almighty. It’s He who said to Sarah: "Is anything too hard for the LORD” when she laughed to herself and thought:” After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"

Even when our power and strength are gone, still our Lord is able to work on it. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few. We only have to come to Him with humility asking with faith:  “For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you” (2 Chronicles 20:12) He who said to Jairus: “Don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed." (Luke 8:50)

Fifth: World’s influence
A man marrying one of his maidservants was common and widespread at that time in the land of Canaan. Perhaps some of the ladies of Canaan or one of the servants advised Sarah to do this. Sarah might have seen this type of marriage in Egypt and Canaan and she was affected and convinced of it.

Sarah might have opposed that idea strongly in the beginning, but when the time passed and God delayed to fulfillment His promise to give her Isaac, and with the attraction of the world and the insistence of others for a hurried answer, she got frustrated and depressed and adhered to the world thoughts so she pushed Abraham to marry Hagar.

That’s what happens to us sometimes when we are influenced by thoughts and principles of the society where we live. We conform to the morals of the people of this age and embrace the worldly ideology and the unspiritual solutions.

The world always offers fast and easy solutions. Instead of waiting for a Godly solution to any marital problem, the world offers divorce to us as a quick response. At the beginning, we may refuse that solution in a decisive way, but because of the influence of the worldly wisdom, we would accept the divorce as a solution to the outstanding marital problem.

We may accept also and agree to marry a nonbeliever, and accept the concept which we refused completely before. That’s how the Christian principles get changed.
The believer is exposed to many worldly pressures and insistency not only in family matters, but in his daily life and at work, where all around him resort to the same world solutions.  This pressure could be also from believers who might have accepted such worldly fast solutions,  and thus the person becomes more frustration  and acts similarly.

Dear reader, May our Lord gives us grace enabling us to stand in face of this worldly current, and to hold fast to our Christian doctrine even if we live aliens in a foreign land. Let us learn from Joshua who rejected to walk along with the world and said "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” ( Joshua 24:15)

Reject the fast human settlements and wait upon God’s will in your life, though it linger, wait for it. Trust that the Lord will support you while waiting and He will honor you and reward you for it, for He promised and said: "Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor” (1 Samuel 2:30)

Magdy Samuel