Questions:
5.
a.
4: She began to despise her mistress, 6: Abram rejected her, Sarai mistreated her.
b.
Homeless, pregnant, no food, shelter, anything
c.
Promise of God to increase her descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count, blessing for Ishmael, fruitful
6.
God – Pre-incarnate Jesus. Gen 16:10, the angel of the LORD says “I will”. Not relying on another higher power.
7.
a.
Submit to authority
b.
Obedience, faith and trust always lead to blessings. I am called to increase in all of these areas and to give glory to God for everything.
8.
a.
16:16 86 years old
b.
10 years since time of the promise, but probably closer to 60 years that he had desired to have a son with his wife.
c.
Our idea of waiting a long time is 24-48 hours.
d.
10 years is not a long time for a God promise. Going along with a bad idea (the “it won’t hurt to try something new” approach)
My Daily Journal:
In searching for an illustration about submission the example that came to mind was a glass or cup. When I am at a restaurant and the server comes to refill my drink, my glass/cup is a great example of the nature God wants me to be in of submission. It is open from above to receive the blessings He has to pour out on me. It is closed at the bottom, to keep from immediately losing the blessing. It has been cleaned/prepared to receive the blessing. It is still.
This last point is the one we often struggle with. If instead of letting go or holding my cup still for the server I try to help by moving the cup, trying to catch what is being poured out, or even blocking it either trying to stop it with my hand or another object or being so focused on drinking the last drop left in it from before, I make things more difficult. Anything I do to try to help, other than submit, makes things more difficult for the server.
Christ talked about filling our heart to overflow with the spirit. The illustration of my heart being a cup helps me get myself in the state to receive those blessings.
The Notes are Good 