阅读经文 

尝试控制我们自己的命运，是人之常情。无论是在商务、经济或家庭的事务上，我们都想自己动手来促使计划成功；我们甚至会采用不择手段的捷径来谋事。

亚伯拉罕就是一个很好的例子，《创世记》十六章记载了他灵命中一个最可悲的污点，我们看到这个向来对神有信心的人却做了缺乏信心的事。神似乎延迟了赐他们后裔的计划，于是亚伯拉罕和撒莱深感焦虑，他们准备好要自己动手了。他们想出一个促成神的应许的方案，他们实际上是尝试用自己的办法来解决问题，而不去信赖神所安排的时间。亚伯拉罕令人震惊地做了一件忠于妻子的事，与她的使女夏甲同房。

这条邪恶的捷径带来了深刻而持久的后患。夏甲怀了孕，而撒莱和夏甲很快便互相争竞，夏甲最终逃走了。

惟愿这个家庭悲剧能警告我们，切勿在道德上走捷径，妥协我们的原则或者尝试扮演神的角色。我们庆幸，因为知道我们在与神同行时，祂的延迟永远不会是一个尽头，而因着祂的恩典，我们的失败也永远不会不可挽回。

It's human nature to try to control our own destiny. We take matters into our own hands and make something happen—whether it be in business, finance, or family matters. We may even take ill-advised shortcuts to get there.

Abraham is a case in point. Genesis 16 records one of the darkest blots on his spiritual record. We see this man of faith acting without faith. Frustrated with the delay in God's plan to give them a child, Abraham and Sarai take matters into their own hands. They devise a scheme for getting what God has promised them. In effect, they try to provide their own solution rather than trusting in God's timing. In a startling act of unfaithfulness, Abraham sleeps with his wife's servant Hagar.
This unholy shortcut brings deep and lasting trouble. Hagar becomes pregnant, and soon jealousy breaks out between Sarai and Hagar, and Hagar runs away.

May this tragedy warn us against taking moral shortcuts, compromising our principles, and trying to play God. It's good to know that when we walk with God, his delays are never dead-ends—and that because of his grace, our failures are never final.