Ishmael Often Precedes Isaac

Several months ago I began to share a word the Lord has placed in my spirit concerning the arrival of Isaac in our lives. Isaac means joy, and prophetically speaks of the arrival of what God has promised into our lives. We know that often God speaks a prophetic word into our spirits and that we must be willing to wait on that promise or we may become foolish in our flesh and create for ourselves a substitute. In the case of Abraham, there was 25 years between the time God promised him a son and the birth of Isaac...in between that time Abraham and Sarah impatient and created Ishmael...and he created problems...the flesh is always too much for us to handle! The name Ishmael means God Hears, the Bible says of Ishmael that he would be a wild ass of a man, a wild man that would produce wild children. As you read the account of Isaac and Ishmael you quickly find that these were not loving brothers, from early on there was conflict. In our spiritual lives Ishmael often precedes Isaac, in our desire to produce what God has promised we get hasty, make quick decisions, and take things into our own hands. Sometimes we mean well, in fact, most of the time, our intentions are right, we're just in a hurry to help God along, and as the result we produce something that we have a hard time living with. The tragedy of it is that we want what is best for us, but are willing to settle for less just to say we have something...all the while God is saying, "Just hang in there, Isaac is coming!" As I look at the events of our day I know that Isaac is coming, that we will see the fulfillment of the prophetic word, that the last days are here and will be filled with an outpouring of the Holy Spirit...I also know that we will have to contend with Ishmael, the wild man that is fighting to find his place...don't settle for less...wait for the best!