Monday, July 26, 2010

Birthing an Ishmael

by Patrice Tsague

So Sarai said to Abram, "see now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her. And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai." Genesis 16:2



Patrice's last devotional was entitled "Hope Deferred" which many responded very well to. It seems many of us know what it feels like to have our hope deferred, but thank God for Jesus who is our hope. The hope He gives, the world cannot take away!

One of the consequences that occurs during the times when we feel as though our hope is deferred is that we commit adultery with the maid and birth Ishmaels. Ishmael represents the planned, but illegitimate, outcome of impatience.

In Genesis 12, God comes to a business man named Abraham and makes him a promise to take him to an unknown land, full of blessings, make him into a great nation, and bless many through him. Excited about the promise, Abraham obeys the Lord and leaves his country. He takes his wife, a young nephew, his servants and his possessions. Several years later, Abraham, who experienced enormous blessings from the Lord, realizes that should he die, one of his servants would have to take over the family business, since he did not have any children. He goes before the Lord and asks God to bless him with a child who would be heir of his enterprise. God not only promises him a child, but God also promises him a nation.

Unfortunately, God did not act fast enough for Abraham's wife Sarah who, due to a lack of patience, suggested that Abraham conceive a child with her maidservant Hagar, which Abraham did. The result was Ishmael; the planned illegitimate outcome of taking things into their own hands due to a lack of patience. How many of us have files in our offices full of Ishmaels? The problem with birthing Ishmaels is that you will have to live with them. You can make the choice but you cannot choose the consequences. One of my pastors used to say, "Choices are long lasting and life changing". Abraham and Sarah had to live with the consequences of Ishmael, which created family issues over inheritance, and favoritisms; issues that continue today in the Middle East between Palestine and Israel. If you are considering committing adultery with an alluring new idea that promises to take you to your hopes quickly and cause you to easily avoid the trials and tests that you are facing, stop and think about the long-term devastating effect of birthing Ishmael. It will not just affect you, but it will also affect those who will come after you for generations to come.

How do you avoid birthing an Ishmael?


1. Be willing to endure the suffering and humiliation of delayed hopes.


2. Count it all joy and rejoice in your challenges, knowing that this is the will of God concerning you.


3. Embrace the lessons that God wants to teach you during the times of waiting.


4. Do not allow others to lure you into new ideas, no matter how promising they may seem.


5. Count the cost.


6. Trust that God is faithful.


7. Keep your eyes on the prize - Jesus. He is your hope and will never defer His promises.

We relocated to Portland in December of 2009 and joined a local church that was not just committed to marketplace ministry, but demonstrated its commitment with the fact that services were held within a hotel that it owned and operated. The pastor/founder of the ministry, a great friend and author of a book called "Mission Based Entrepreneurship Revolution," had a vision to take this model across the nation and the world.

This past May, five months after we arrived in Oregon, a fire destroyed the sanctuary portion of the hotel where our church met for worship services. Within that same week, due to circumstances beyond the church's control, the hotel facility was sold to a non-Christian company. These circumstances caused many within the congregation to become perplexed. What happened to the dream we had and what would become of our vision?

What makes me proud to be a part of this congregation and the leadership team of this church is the heart of the people. My friend and Senior Pastor of the church boldly declared that we would not quit nor stop, neither would we birth an Ishmael during this difficult period. Instead, we would patiently seek the Lord, regroup, and more than ever, commit ourselves to building a model of a sustainable strategy that funds social justice and educates others around the nation and the world on how to do the same.

It is easy to quit when our hope is deferred. It is even easier to birth an Ishmael, because Ishmaels make us feel as though we have accomplished something. Ishmaels seem to temporarily remove humiliation and disappointment, but they always bring long-term devastating effects that are irreversible. Are you currently flirting with a project or idea that you know is not in line with God's original vision for you? Seek the Lord for the grace to say, "No Lord, not my will but Your will be done."

Copyright © 2010 Patrice Tsague ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Hope Deferred

by Patrice Tsague

Hope deferred makes the heart sick but when desires comes it is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12

The recent economic crisis of the last two years swept away the hopes of many individuals and kingdom business stewards. Some had plans to make a great impact in the kingdom; some believed God to retire from one career so they could be repurposed into another area of ministry; some planned to get out of debt, give more to the work of the kingdom, and expand their businesses or start new businesses. But the crisis depleted their savings, reduced their income and brought many to the point of bankruptcy. The Bible states that, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick…” The delay of hopes and dreams has caused many to lose their Godfidence and some have even quit.

Hope is an anticipation of a desired future. Hope keeps you going when nothing around you seems to work. Hope is the heartbeat of future dreams and goals. When you have no hope, no matter how realistic your goals or how rewarding the promise may be, you will not have the strength to continue to persevere. You will quit!

What causes our hopes to be deferred? Our hope is deferred when we put our hope in the wrong thing. Whenever our hope is bound by anything tangible, it is at risk of being deferred. We live in a sinful world and no matter how comprehensive our plans, how righteous our walk, or how worthy our goals, they may not always come together the way we envision them. Our hope must always be based on the unchanging nature and character of Jesus Christ.

In Luke chapter 24, Jesus had just been crucified and we find two of His disciples traveling to a village called Emmaus. As they travel, they begin to talk with sadness about what had just occurred in Jerusalem. As they talked, Jesus Himself draws near to them and asks them why they are so sad. They proceed to recap how their leader was condemned to death and crucified when their hope was that He would redeem Israel, but now that hope had been deferred. Jesus rebuked them for their faithlessness, reminded them of the Scriptures, and revealed Himself to them. They were hopeless because they had taken their eyes off Jesus, forgotten the scriptures and were solely focused on their short term loss and immediate desires. Whenever we take our eyes off Jesus and focus on our circumstances, our hope gets deferred.

If we do not properly manage our deferred hopes, we may allow our faith to be shipwrecked or we may begin to lean on our own understanding and “help God out” by creating our own path. That was the case with Abraham and Sarah as they were waiting for the child of promise. They became impatient and began to feel as though they were getting too old. So they made arrangements with their maid for her to carry a child for them. The result was Ishmael. That act has caused problems until this day.

How do you prevent your faith from shipwrecking or birthing an Ishmael when you faith is deferred?

Remember that deferred does not mean denied.


Make sure your hope is based on God’s will for you.


Distinguish between God’s will versus your personal dreams and desires.


Make sure your hope is anchored on your faith in Jesus Christ – Jesus must be your hope.


Know that God will work all things together for your good.


Keep in mind that your timing is not God’s timing.

Rejoice, for such is the will of God concerning you.

Like you, my wife and I have been on a long journey to realize a vision that we believe to be from God, but we did not realize would take this long. We constantly have had to renew our faith and keep our eyes on Jesus so we can persevere. What keeps us encouraged is the joy of seeing the many lives that have been transformed and the kingdom businesses that are creating jobs and resourcing the kingdom due to our obedience. There is also the joy of knowing that we are being used by the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. The struggles help to keep us on our knees, maintain a level of humility, and keep our eyes on Him.

Has your hope been deferred? Whatever circumstances you find yourself in, neither yield to the temptation of creating your own path, nor give up. Rather, endure the suffering that comes with the sense of loss and personal disappointment with joy, knowing that He who began a good work in you shall complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. He will work all things together for your good because you love Him and are called according to His purpose.

Copyright © 2010 Patrice Tsague ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.