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This is a tendency we all have as part of our human nature. Now that we are baptised and following Christ should we take matters into our own hands even when it looks like there is no other option?
Let us take a few moments to ponder and think more deeply on this topic. Why do we want to take matters into our own hands? Control. Humans like control. There is a modicum of security and satisfaction in trying to take control of our lives. We like to choose for ourselves how and when things happen. Conversely there is fear of the unknown to many. Some of our decisions are “no brainers” and are easy to make. There is pleasure and joy in making them especially if they involve loved ones as we usually have their best interests at heart. Other decisions we can agonise over for days or even weeks especially if they are very important ones — things like moving house, where to send the children to school, which job to take, and so forth. Then there are many other less important decisions based on preferences and taste.
If you are like me, deciding on which GPS to purchase, or coffee machine, or a watch that tracks our steps, BP, and heart rate, can be at times so overwhelming with the range of products out there, that I find myself “paralysed” into non-action due to not wanting to make an unwise investment. I desire to make wise decisions on everything in my life, whether big or small. I think we all do to be wise stewards of the blessings we receive from God (Luke 16:10). You may think, so what! Just look at the range and make an informed decision. Because some things are just wants and not needs, the decision is more difficult because we can live without these luxury items. The decisions we make in the “little” things do matter because God wants to know what we choose to do with our free will that He gave when He created us. There is no “hard and fast” rule holding us back from anything unless it goes against the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17). Even then we still have free will. God will never force us to obey. He wants us to always make the best decisions so that we will prosper physically and spiritually.
Taking matters into our own hands involves a decision...to do or not to do whatever that thing is that we are considering. How we come to that decision need not be difficult if we seek God out in prayer. He will let us know what is right for us. The problem only occurs when we do not wait on God and think He may not have heard our prayer. God always hears. We mostly receive answers straight away and are most pleased with the direction He gives us because it is what we desire. But there are those times when there is no answer or green light to go ahead. Even if we fast. My experience now tells me God is not opening this door and that is why He seems silent or distant. That is not to say that God may not open this door down the track at a later time. Perhaps we may need to show patience or trust and wait on God. Perhaps we also need to show our faith.
There is a very well known account in the Bible of two people who could not wait on God and took matters into their own hands. We know of them in the Old Testament as Abraham and Sarah. How they most desperately wanted a child, an heir. They believed this was impossible due to Sarah being barren and their advancing age. So what did they do? They took matters into their own hands. The result was a child, Ishmael, but how they went about it was not God’s will at all. The name Ishmael means “God hears” (Genesis 16:11). God would have heard their prayers for a child but this needed to happen on His schedule, not theirs. We are all being affected by the ramifications of their actions, even to this day, and indeed right up until the return of Christ. If we read on in Genesis 17 and 18 we can discover that eventually, some 14 years later Sarah was able to give birth to a child, Isaac, and the circumstances where both Sarah and Abraham laughed at the idea of having a child in their old age. The name Isaac means laughter. God has a very good sense of humour, does he not?
Abraham and Sarah showed God a distinct lack of faith in that moment of having another woman conceive and bear this child who would be known as Ishmael. God allowed it but they were taught a huge lesson. We can read about this account in Genesis 16. Have we learnt hard lessons from taking matters into our own hands at some stage when we wanted something so desperately?
Faithfully Responding To God’s Call
Some time ago I was all set to sell my home. After being called out of the world and understanding that tithing needed to be done, I promptly had a real estate agent list my property and a buyer was ready to give me the full asking price after only one open inspection. Perfect! You see, I could no longer work every Saturday because of keeping the Sabbath. So instead of working Friday night duty, Saturday night duty, and Sunday every week I now had to switch to weekday shifts. My salary took a huge nosedive. Plus I needed to make other arrangements for my youngest child. No matter how I looked at the budget things just did not add up. As it was I was paying for a huge mortgage on one wage. Things such as illness or tithing had not been factored into the equation when I purchased the property the previous year. I had no idea God was going to call me out of the world. If I knew I would not have bought a new car as well. So here I was with a chunk of debt, now living beyond my means, but had reliable work. Working twice every Saturday plus the Sunday was how I could afford to live this way. Voluntarily I was prepared to give it all up soon after I was called. It was not a hard decision to make because God said not to work on the Sabbath. Plain and simple.
My ex husband wanted to know where I was moving to. When I answered him truthfully I found myself also saying words that I had not intended to say and was astonished as to why I said these words, not once but twice I repeated them. The only conclusion I can come to is that God gave me these words because as a result of these words I had a home to go to of which I had no prior knowledge. The matter was settled. To this day I know God organised where I am living now and have been for the past 7 years. I shouldn’t marvel at this knowing that nothing is impossible for God (Luke 1:37, Matthew 19:26). The whole thing seemed like a huge miracle. Who puts their home up for sale as soon as they start keeping the Sabbath and has no idea where they will be living? Not somebody like me who hates taking risks, has fear of the unknown, who thrives on control and is house proud to boot! I loved that home with the swimming pool in which I had been baptised. I wanted to stay there forever. God had other plans and made it very easy for me to leave. I remember thinking at the time I felt like a type of Abraham in a small way. I was leaving my home because God was leading me elsewhere just like Abraham in Genesis 12:1.
This story is true and all eventually ended well. However there was one hiccup to the story. The home was taken off the market even though the buyer was eager and willing, primarily because of well meaning advice from a dear and trusted friend, and put up for sale again several years later. He thought I may be acting hastily and I should do nothing until I had considered everything more fully over a period of time. This just delayed the inevitable and several disastrous events occurred during this time to both myself and my youngest child. I listened to a human over God. This is something I will not do ever again. Huge lesson to learn. It was a big mistake to listen to my friend even though I knew he had my best interests at heart and would do me no harm. He was like a father figure and mentor to me. No matter how much someone loves us they should take second place to God. There will be no more taking matters into my own hands. I simply do not trust my own hands but I do trust in God’s. “Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me” (Micah 7:7).