Galatians 4:21-31 | Flesh vs. Promise
21Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not understand what the law says? 22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born through the promise.
24These things serve as illustrations, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery: This is Hagar. 25Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present-day Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. 26But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27For it is written:
“Rejoice, O barren woman,
who bears no children;
break forth and cry aloud,
you who have never travailed;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband.”
28Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29At that time, however, the son born by the flesh persecuted the son born by the Spirit. It is the same now.
30But what does the Scripture say? “Expel the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” 31Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.
-Galatians 4:21-31 BSB
24These things serve as illustrations, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery: This is Hagar. 25Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present-day Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. 26But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27For it is written:
“Rejoice, O barren woman,
who bears no children;
break forth and cry aloud,
you who have never travailed;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband.”
28Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29At that time, however, the son born by the flesh persecuted the son born by the Spirit. It is the same now.
30But what does the Scripture say? “Expel the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” 31Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.
-Galatians 4:21-31 BSB
We are given an incredible analogy between the slave and the free. This is where the distinctions for us become incredibly important. To summarize briefly, the slave produces her works by the flesh while the free woman inherits promise by faith. One was sanctioned by the Lord and the other was rejected for the purposes of fulfilling the promise.
How often do we like to take the reins in our own lives? We can come out of incredible bible studies, prayer nights, worship nights, and mountain high experiences where we are willing to trust the Lord deeply. However, as things get dicey, it is easy for us to try to make matters into our own hands. "Perhaps God didn't mean... God must be waiting on me to... Since He isn't answering, I need to..." These are just a few examples of what this looks like.
Have you considered the insurmountable amount of Scriptures that talk about the benefit of waiting on the Lord? Well now we have a real big problem. In the day and age that waiting on the Lord was written, it was already difficult for them to be patient. They didn't have the various stimuli that cause us to wane in our patience. We live in a true instant gratification culture. If a webpage takes more than a second to load, we are calling our internet companies with fury in our voices. And now we must wait for God? He has infinite time! I have to have this now! We may chuckle to ourselves, but we know this experience to be true for many believers.
Let me pose an important question to you. Do you trust God's process with you? This is a question that has been riddling my mind deeply for a few months now. Do you trust His process with you? Do you trust the timing and pacing of God's discipline of you? Do you trust the space between revelations? Do you trust His timing to spiritually develop you? Or are you trying to fast track your way into a sanctified life? There is only one way forward and it is grace through faith. That means that we are going to have to learn to trust in God and His timing for those things He wants to develop in our lives.
What is God calling you to let go of and trust Him with today?
How often do we like to take the reins in our own lives? We can come out of incredible bible studies, prayer nights, worship nights, and mountain high experiences where we are willing to trust the Lord deeply. However, as things get dicey, it is easy for us to try to make matters into our own hands. "Perhaps God didn't mean... God must be waiting on me to... Since He isn't answering, I need to..." These are just a few examples of what this looks like.
Have you considered the insurmountable amount of Scriptures that talk about the benefit of waiting on the Lord? Well now we have a real big problem. In the day and age that waiting on the Lord was written, it was already difficult for them to be patient. They didn't have the various stimuli that cause us to wane in our patience. We live in a true instant gratification culture. If a webpage takes more than a second to load, we are calling our internet companies with fury in our voices. And now we must wait for God? He has infinite time! I have to have this now! We may chuckle to ourselves, but we know this experience to be true for many believers.
Let me pose an important question to you. Do you trust God's process with you? This is a question that has been riddling my mind deeply for a few months now. Do you trust His process with you? Do you trust the timing and pacing of God's discipline of you? Do you trust the space between revelations? Do you trust His timing to spiritually develop you? Or are you trying to fast track your way into a sanctified life? There is only one way forward and it is grace through faith. That means that we are going to have to learn to trust in God and His timing for those things He wants to develop in our lives.
What is God calling you to let go of and trust Him with today?
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John 14:22-31 | What's the lesson for me today?John 14:22-31 | What am I going to do about it?John 14:22-31 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 15:1-11John 15:1-11 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 15:1-11 | What's the connection?John 15:1-11 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 15:1-11 | What's the lesson for me today?John 15:1-11 | What am I going to do about it?John 15:1-11 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 15:12-27John 15:12-27 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 15:12-27 | What's the connection?John 15:12-27 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 15:12-27 | What's the lesson for me today?John 15:12-27 | What am I going to do about it?John 15:12-27 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 16:1-15John 16:1-15 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 16:1-15 | What's the connection?John 16:1-15 | What’s a lesson for the original audience?John 16:1-15 | What's the lesson for me today?John 16:1-15 | What am I going to do about it?John 16:1-15 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 16:16-33John 16:16-33 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 16:16-33 | What's the connection?John 16:16-33 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 16:16-33 | What's the lesson for me today?John 16:16-33 | What am I going to do about it?John 16:16-33 | Prayer Prompts
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Passage of the Week: John 17John 17 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 17 | What's the connection?John 17 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 17 | What's the lesson for me today?John 17 | What am I going to do about it?John 17 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 18:1-11John 18:1-11 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 18:1-11 | What's the connection?John 18:1-11 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 18:1-11 | What's the lesson for me today?John 18:1-11 | What am I going to do about it?John 18:1-11 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 18:12-40John 18:12-40 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 18:12-40 | What's the connection?John 18:12-40 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 18:12-40 | What's the lesson for me today?John 18:12-40 | What am I going to do about it?John 18:12-40 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 19John 19 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 19 | What's the connection?John 19 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 19 | What's the lesson for me today?John 19 | What am I going to do about it?John 19 | Prayer Prompts
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