Genesis 16 What happens when we get tired of waiting and decide to take matters into our own hands? Genesis 16 shows us the consequences of Abram and Sarai trying to accomplish God’s promise their own way. But in the middle of the mess, we also meet the God who sees us. This chapter challenges us to stop rushing God, trust His timing, and obey Him even when waiting is difficult.

Genesis 15 deals with something every believer will face: waiting on God. God promised Abram a son, but Abram still had no child. Yet in the middle of the waiting, God told him, “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1). Then we see one of the greatest statements of faith in the chapter: “And he believed in the LORD” (Genesis 15:6). Abram didn’t have the promise in his hands yet, but he trusted the God who gave it. Can you trust God when you’re still waiting for Him to fulfill what He promised?

Genesis 14 shows Abram returning from a great victory, and instead of taking the glory for himself, he recognized that his victory came from God. When the king of Sodom offered him the goods, Abram refused, saying, “I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God…that I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet” (Genesis 14:22-23). Abram understood that God—not man—deserved the glory for what had happened. When God gives you the victory, who gets the glory?