Don't settle for an Ishmael when God promised you an Isaac!

When we're waiting for a divine breakthrough we can become impatient and be tempted to help God out. While we may think Abraham never wavered the truth is slightly different.

"And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform."
Romans 4:19-21

When we think about faith, we have to think about Abraham, the father of faith. This verse from Romans 4 seems to suggest that Abraham never wavered in his faith. If that were so, it would be hard for me to relate to his experience because I have, many times, wavered in my faith.

But we need to read these words in context. It is talking about a certain period in Abraham's life. '...since he was about a hundred years old'.

So he became strong in faith at that age. If you study his life before that time, you will find that Abraham wavered in his faith several times. When God told him he would have a son, he and his wife laughed. Not for joy but with doubt.

After some time had passed and the promise had not appeared, Sarah suggested they should help God out and Abraham should sleep with the servant girl Hagar. Abraham had no more faith than Sarah and gladly agreed.

Ishmael was born and they had a son. Abraham was now 86 years old. They wanted Ishmael to be the son of promise but he was not. Fourteen years later, God appears to Abraham again and speaks of the child of blessing.

At this point, Abraham is still wavering in his faith. Although God tells him that the child of blessing will come from him and Sarah, he laughs again with unbelief and asks that Ishmael, their 'plan B', may be the child of blessing.

Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child? And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!"
Genesis 17:17, 18

But from that time, something happened to Abraham's faith. He became full of faith. What happened?

The clue is in God's greeting.

"When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless."
Genesis 17:1

Up until this time God had appeared and declared he was 'Elohiym' - the divine one, the creator. The one who set the natural laws for all things.

But on this day, he announced that Abraham was being visited by 'Almighty God' - 'El Shaddai' - the most powerful God. The one who could overrule the natural law.

Now what seemed impossible before, would be made possible because now El Shaddai was on the case! So Isaac was born. God's blessing required a supernatural act. That's why Ishmael could never be the child of blessing, though he himself was blessed.

And was God foreshadowing the birth of Jesus? - which would require El Shaddai to overrule the natural law.

When we read of the first miracle of Jesus we see the fast forward button pressed by El Shaddai. The water into wine miracle at Cana accelerated the natural law.

If I plant a grape seed today and plant a vineyard, naturally speaking it will be 2 to 3 years before it will produce wine. But it would be 5 to 6 years before it would produce the best wine.

Jesus, acting as El Shaddai - God Almighty - accelerated the natural process of wine making from six years down to a couple of minutes.

I don't know what your need is today, but I know I have a few things that look like a job for El Shaddai!

We need to be careful if we waver in faith because we may produce an Ishmael. We need to stir up our faith, and call on El Shaddai - and his name is Jesus!

Next time things seem impossible, why not say, 'This looks like a job for El Shaddai!'

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Healing words

God has appointed his word and your words as sources of healing. Some people say, ‘I’ve prayed so long but God hasn’t healed me’. When we get sick or we get a disease, it is very easy to focus on ourselves and on the problem. But if we are going to get healed by God we need to shift our attention to his word.

‘He sent His word and healed them…’
Psalms 107:20.

So we need to hear and receive his word for our situation. We need to be reading a meditating on his word for our lives daily. We need to give our attention to his word because his word brings healing and health.

‘My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.’
Proverbs 4:20-22

As we meditate on God’s word it gets into us. As we speak his word aloud and think about it, it gets inside us – into our heart.

‘But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach):’
Romans 10:8

Those are the two places we need to get his word – in our mouth and in our heart. That is when the word begins to take effect.

The word of God comes to us like a seed – we don’t understand it fully at first. It’s like a seed. We can’t see everything contained in it until it grows in us.

‘The sower sows the word.’
Mark 4:14

We have to let the word of God grow in us by watering it with our faith and our meditation. Whatever we give our attention to will grow in our life. When I was a young man, I gave my attention to a young lady. I thought about her often. I dreamed about her. I spoke to others about her. I spent every moment I could with her. The more I gave my attention to her, the more she became part of my life. She is now my wife and we’ve been married for 30 years! I still give her my attention.

So God says, ‘give attention to my words’. (Prov 4:20). He has sent his word to heal us. Now we have to apply our faith to his word.

How do we do that? Well first of all we have to hear his word, let it sink in, because ‘…faith comes by hearing… the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

Then faith grows in us that the word is true and for us. Then we can begin to speak out our faith. We can begin to say we are healed because God says we are healed.

‘For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.’
Mark 11:23

Look how many times Jesus used the word ‘say’ in that one sentence. So miracles of faith begin by a declaration. We have to say what we want not what we have. It’s easy to say ‘I’m ill’. But, when we are, it’s better to begin saying ‘I am healed!’ This is what God advises. Say what you want not what you’ve got.

‘Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’’
(Joel 3:10)

Speaking like that begins to change us on the inside. We change from being a victim to an overcomer.

Everything God does in the earth begins with a declaration. In creation he said, ‘Let there be light!’ and it was so. In the same way, we who are made in his image must also declare things before they come to pass.

‘You will also declare a thing,
And it will be established for you…’
Job 22:28

Our words are powerful to change things in the spirit that affect the natural things.

‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.’
Proverbs 18:21

We need to know what the word says and how to release the power of God otherwise we will be thrashing around in error and speculation.

“Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.”
Matthew 22:29

So where do we begin? Let us focus on Jesus and what he did on the cross. That’s always a good place to start. Let us see and mediate on the fact that he not only dealt with sin on the cross but also with sickness.

‘..who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness - by whose stripes you were healed.’
1 Peter 2:24

‘..by whose stripes you were healed.’ Notice that is past tense. If I was healed then I am healed. Meditate on that today.


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