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亚伯拉罕焦急地等待着神应许赐给他和撒莱的孩子出生，对他来说，神似乎迟迟未能兑现祂的应许。亚伯拉罕和撒莱终于感到对神有些不耐烦了，于是便尝试按他们自己不敬虔的方法（藉着撒莱的使女）来获得一个孩子。亚伯拉罕愚昧地走在神之前——以致事后留下了骨肉相争的后患。

我们当中很多人或许会想起我们自己也曾做过类似的事；我们不喜欢神拟定的时间，于是开始怀疑祂是否真的可靠。我们的错误大概没有像亚伯拉罕所犯的那么严重，然而我们仍然曾冲动前行和尝试掌控我们自己的命运。

我们总觉得，主动出击比守株待兔更为容易、奋发努力比信靠上帝更为容易、取代上帝比顺服引领更为容易。然而亚伯拉罕吃了苦头后领受了教训，有一件比等候神更难受的事——就是后悔未曾耐心等待。亚伯拉罕的下半生，都因自己当初的信心不足和鲁莽行事而追悔莫及。

神定的时间表和我们的计划往往不是同步的，所以我们便需要遵命去等候祂。然而，主所应许的尚未成就，其实不是耽延。（参彼后 3:9）从永恒的角度来看，神所预定的时间是完美的。神吩咐我们只要信靠祂，给祂必要的时间和空间来成就祂完美的计划。

Abraham struggled to wait for his and Sarai's promised child to be born. It seemed to him that God was too slow in keeping his promises. Eventually Abraham and Sarai lost patience with God and tried to have a child in their own unsanctified way (through Sarai's servant). In his foolishness, Abraham ran ahead of God—leaving a path of relational carnage in his wake.

Many of us can probably recall times when we have done something similar. We were unhappy with God's timing and began doubting his reliability. Maybe we didn't go as far as Abraham did, but we still charged ahead and tried to direct our own destiny.

Often we find it easier to work rather than wait, to try harder rather than to trust, to play God rather than to surrender to him. But Abraham learned the hard way that there is one thing worse than waiting for God—and that is wishing you had waited. Abraham spent the rest of his life regretting his lack of faith and the rashness of his actions.

God's timing and ours are often not in sync, so we are called to wait. And yet the Lord is not slow in keeping his promises (2 Peter 3:9). From the perspective of eternity, God's timing is perfect. Our calling is simply to trust God, giving him the time and space needed to work out his good plan.