When we rely on man’s will instead of praying for God’s will, there will be bad consequences. In our journey of faith as Christians, we must look to God all the time. God desires that we look to Him even in the simplest of our problems. He wants us to give Him first place in our lives in all we do. We can then fulfil His will. In Genesis 16, we learn of a time when Abram and Sarai relied on their own will instead of seeking for God’s will.

In the days of Abram, not having a child was seen as a failure to women. Having surrogate mothers became a culturally accepted solution for barren women and this was what Sarai planned to do. However, Abram failed to seek God’s will in this matter, even though this practice was culturally acceptable. He should have prayed for God’s will to be revealed to him, but he listened to Sarai. Hagar conceived as a result and their plan seemed to be going well. However, Hagar soon became proud and Sarai realised her plan backfired. Abram and Sarai again did not seek God’s will and continued to take matters into their own hands. It led to Hagar fleeing from them.

The pre-incarnate Christ appeared to Hagar and comforted her. God paid attention even to an insignificant woman like Hagar. She obeyed God and returned to Abram and Sarai. In this instance, Hagar proved more faithful than Abram and Sarai in obeying God’s will. Ishmael was soon born. For Abram, Ishmael would be a constant reminder of how he and Sarai had failed to turn to God to seek His will but had relied on their own will instead. We must be careful not to make plans without God or we will end up learning our lessons the hard way.

Do not try to justify ourselves when we decide to seek man’s will over God’s will. We must learn to trust in God. With each step of trusting in God, we gain in our walk in faith in Him. Man’s will only result in failure. We must not insist on doing our own will. We will suffer, and suffer deservedly, for rejecting God’s will. God’s will for us is always the best. Every day poses a new challenge for us. We must follow God’s will all the way of our life.