Whose Voice Are You Listening To?

“So Sarai said to Abram, ‘Now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her.’ And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.” Genesis 16:2

I can hear the desperation in her voice. Please God, do something. Something different, something better, something now. Sarai was at a breaking point, and so was Abram. If God wasn’t going to make it right, Sarai would. After all, God promised descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky (Genesis 22:17).

Sarai and Abram were God-fearing, God-following people. They picked up and left everything they knew when God said go. But their path was not an easy one. Like most marriages, they struggled. The day Abram listened to Sarai must have been the breaking point.

Sarai was tired of waiting on God. Her plan sounded reasonable enough (it was the custom of their culture), so why not? Why not help God along as he fulfilled his promise to Abram? Surely it would ease their pain.

And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

If you’ve never waited the long wait for answers in your marriage, it’s likely you haven’t been married long. Some things are easier to wait on than others, but there is always that one thing that will drive us to question God. Is he really for us? Do all things really work for good? Why can’t he just . . . ?

Abram and Sarai were weary in their wait for a child. Some blame Sarai for sending Abram her slave to sleep with him, others blame Abram for saying yes. Is it possible that they both were at their wits end and together, like married couples do, made a mess of things – together?

If we can put aside blame as we read their story, our hearts may be open to truth in God’s word about our own marriages. We can learn a few things from Sarai and Abram.

Be careful what you say.

God calls us, as women of God, to speak with wisdom and faithful instruction (Proverbs 31:26). What we say to our husbands is of great influence. If we are not careful to seek God for wisdom when we struggle in our marriage, and remember his promises, we will be tempted to take matters into our own hands.

I am guilty! It is so easy to make sin a reasonable option. What we forget in the middle of our not-so-wise, human decision making is that sin is a quick resolve with negative long-term consequences. Sarai convinced Abram her plan was the better plan and caused great suffering.

Be careful who you listen to.

Sarai listened to the voice of reason, and Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. No one, at the moment, was listening to God.

If you are like me, wired to solve problems, you can relate to Sarai. She and her husband had a problem. She had an acceptable, seemingly harmless solution. Why not fix the problem?

As I look back in my own life, there are a more than a few problems I wish I had left alone, kept my mouth shut, turned to God, and waited for his answer. But I didn’t. My “harmless” solutions always created hurt. And like Abram and Sarai, we suffered consequences.

Be certain God hears you, and he will answer.

“Call to me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3

God fulfilled his promise to Abram and Sarai, from this time on known as Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 17:5) And despite my thoughtless words and faithless actions, God is still faithful, calling me his child (1 John 3:1). His promise to me, and to you, is that when we call on him, he will answer.

We need only to listen for his voice.

It is my prayer that you call on Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and turn to him to do a mighty work in the life of your marriage. Don’t just believe in him – believe him! His Word is true, and his promises are certain.