Whatever You Think Best

WHATEVER YOU THINK BEST

“Your servant is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.

Genesis 16:6

The first time Sarai did what she thought best, she told her husband Abram to sleep with her maidservant Hagar so they could build a family through her (Genesis 16:2). Although Abram knew and believed God’s promise that he would have a son, and in God’s time would be blessed with offspring as uncountable as the stars in the sky, he agreed to do what Sarai said (Genesis 15:4-6, 16:1-2).

When you do what you think seems best, instead of obeying God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go (Isaiah 48:17), trouble is sure to follow. As soon as Hagar realized she was pregnant, she began to despise Sarai. Sarai in turn, points her blaming finger at Abram, and Abram treats the messy affair like a hot potato (Genesis 16:4-5).

“Your servant is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best” (Genesis 16:6a). History repeats itself. Instead of pursuing God and His wisdom, Sarai again does what she thinks best and mistreats Hagar who then flees (Genesis 16:6b).

It’s the natural inclination of our heart to do what we think is best instead of seeking and surrendering to God’s best plan for our lives. There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God (Romans 3:10-11).

The world consults horoscopes, friends, blogs, and their gut feeling to determine what to do when. If it feels good, it must be right. If it doesn’t, they take the opposite fork in the road.

There’s one sure way to know what steps God wants us to take next, and that’s to ask Him! Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your way truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long (Psalm 25:4-5).

Many who seek God say, “I wish He would just write the answer on the wall, or send an email or a text, telling me what I’m supposed to take next.” The good news is that when we seek God’s best, for the sake of His name He will lead and guide us (Psalm 31:3), not occasionally or randomly, but the LORD will guide you always (Isaiah 58:11, emphasis added). God uses His Spirit (John 16:13), His Word, (Psalm 119:105), and His wisdom (James 1:5) to reveal what He knows is best for you and me.

Think on it: What decisions are weighing heavy in your mind right now? Think about what you’re thinking about and follow His will, instead of your way today.

Since God expects you and me to live in obedience to His will, He will not hide it from us. But He does expect us to prayerfully seek it.

Anne Graham Lotz