Faith, Trust, and Patience

Once again I have neglected you…. Sigh…

I have a good excuse though! As of April 1, 2012, I am 100% done with my classes! I have earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and although it was kind of anticlimactic (I have been taking online classes, so no real graduation), I am really glad to have this accomplishment under my belt. This means that the past months were spent on classwork though instead of proceeding in my Bible studies, at least not the progress I wanted/expected.

I have a renewed determination though.

My little girl is beginning the terrible twos (she’s four months early, but insisting she’s ready for them… lol), my husband is being transferred so we have a cross country move coming up, and until then he will be gone a lot more. Needless to say, I have some challenges coming up.

While I’m not particularly stressed about any of these factors, I know that this will make us vulnerable to spiritual attack. Therefore, I am determined to be as prepared as I can be by constantly immerging myself in God’s Word.

So, here we go.

Last time I wrote about Noah’s wife. The next women in the Bible are Abraham’s wife, Sarah, and Lot’s wife.

Lot’s wife (Gen. 19:26) is another unnamed woman of the Bible. Unlike Noah’s wife who had faith and trust in her husband and God, Lot’s wife is mentioned only as having looked back as the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed with burning sulfur (Gen. 19:24). This act was in direct disobedience of what the angels told Lot to do, or rather what not to do. Because she was punished for looking back, I think it can be assumed that Lot must have told her the rule and she ignored it. Lot’s wife disobeyed her husband who expressed God’s direction and for this she suffered a fatal consequence.

I know this will come up later as I study Paul’s words for women to submit their husbands, but let’s think about this: Genesis 3:16 states that women’s “desire will be for [her] husband, yet he will dominate [her].” My {Apologetics Study Bible} says that this refers to the battle of the sexes. Women are not weak, but sometimes our strength is shown in our willingness to recognize our husband’s role and submit to it.

The story of Lot is evidence that God does not always speak to both parties of a relationship. We have to trust our husbands even when we don’t have the entire picture. Encourage them to pray about a situation, but if they are convicted, we have to have faith in them and in God’s guidance.

Sarah is another example of what happens when the wife does not have faith. Her story is also an example of the strength we have as our husbands’ helpmates.

 

In Genesis 12, God calls Abram (Abraham) and promises to make him into a great nation. In Genesis 16, however, Sarai (Sarah) gets impatient and gives Hagar to her husband to fulfill the promise that way. Abram goes along with what Sarai wants. Her lack of faith in God’s promise spreads to affect Abram as well. I see that as the position of the helpmate used improperly. She could have encouraged Abram’s faith, and instead encouraged doubt.

You would think she would have learned after this situation to trust and have faith, but two chapters later when angels tell Abraham that Sarah will have a son within the year, she laughs. Sure enough though, God kept His word and Isaac was born.

In chapter 21, Sarah again decides to take matters into her own hands and demands that Abraham banish Ishmael (Hagar’s son) because she doesn’t want him to be a co-heir with Isaac. Here Abraham hesitates and does not immediately follow his wife’s decision until God calms his fear. 

Thankfully, Sarah’s story gives us lessons to live by so that we don’t have to learn from experience. As wives, we have a certain amount of strength as our husband’s helper; we can encourage faith in God’s guidance, or we can sow seeds of doubt. Either way, whether we have faith and trust in God’s work through our husband or not, God will use our actions for His glory. My prayer is that I will always look to God and trust my husband. God will use me anyway; I would rather know I acted in faith.

The next lesson is one that I’m sure we’ll all face first hand: patience in God’s timing. There’s not much else to say about this. It’s the hardest thing to do, but it’s so simple. When God says He’ll do something, He will. Take a breath and enjoy watching God’s plan unfold.

Additional Thought:

I think so many women get annoyed at just being “helpers.” Do we really realize how much responsibilty we have and how much strength it takes to use it properly? I know I struggle with this position. I do not want to control my husband and take the lead in the family, but, when he’s gone so much, it’s so easy to fall into that role. It is not the role I am supposed to have though. I am his helper. I pray for him. I provide suggestions and support. We work together because we are partners, but many decisions are ultimately his.

As an example, my husband has plans to further his career (not a bad thing) and this requires relocation. He requested a transfer to North Dakota. I was not thrilled with this idea, but I could tell how much he liked that shop. He told me that he’d prayed about a transfer, and there was not an obvious no, so…. His request was denied…because instead he was being transferred to California. I did not like this idea either. He didn’t know anyone out there, so I wasn’t convinced it would be better than where we are. The air quality is terrible, the cost of living is higher, and California is not supportive of homeschooling. I could not see how this move would be better. I’m trusting in my husband and that God is putting us where we need to be though and you know what? I’m not excited, but I’m not scared either. I’ll have my family, what more do I need?

Alright. So that’s my thoughts on Lot’s wife and Sarah. Faith, trust and patience: necessary attributes of a godly wife. Thankfully, God has known from the beginning that these could be areas of struggle and has given us His Word as a guide.

Hmm.... These attributes will probably come in handy in mothering a nearly 2 year old as well, don't you think?