Faith and patience always go together (Heb. 6:12; James 1:1–5). Isaiah declared, “Whoever believes will not act hastily” (Isa. 28:16). We must trust God not only for His plan but also for His timing. Before He could send the promised son, God had to wait until Abram and Sarai were as good as dead (Rom. 4:19–21; Heb. 11:11–12). Sarai leaned on human understanding instead of God’s promises (Prov. 3:5–6). She trusted a woman from Egypt instead of the God of heaven.
信心和忍耐总是并肩而行的（来6:12；各1:1-5）。以赛亚宣告说：“信靠的人必不着急”（赛28:16）。我们不仅必须相信神的计划，也必须相信祂的时间。神在实现祂给亚伯兰的应许之前，不得不等到亚伯兰和撒莱如同死了一样（罗4:19-21；来11:11-12）。撒莱依靠了自己的聪明，不是神的应许（箴3:5-6）。她宁愿相信一位来自埃及的女人，也不相信天上的神。
Sarai was not a strong believer, but she was a capable blamer. She blamed God for her barrenness, then blamed Abram when Hagar created problems in the home. The wisdom from God is pure and peaceable, but the wisdom of the flesh is always divisive (James 3:13–18). Abram abdicated his spiritual leadership in the home, and the result was confusion.
撒莱不是一个坚强的信徒，可却是个善于责怪他人的人。她指责神使她不能生育，然后又为夏甲在家制造的问题指责亚伯兰。从神而来的智慧是清洁、和平的，但是人的智慧却导致分争（各3:13-18）。亚伯兰放弃自己在家里的属灵领导之责，其结果就是家庭混乱。
When we walk by sight and not by faith, we get impatient; we scheme and blame others. Then when things go wrong, we try to get rid of our mistakes. God sent Hagar and Ishmael back to Abram and Sarai, and they had to live with their mistake for at least another seventeen years.
当我们凭眼所见而不是凭信心而行时，我们就会开始感到不耐烦；我们为自己谋算并指责别人。当事情出差错的时候，我们就试图想要摆脱责任。神让夏甲和以实玛利回到亚伯兰和撒莱身边，他们俩则还有至少17年的时间继续面对自己所犯下的错误。
Abram and Sarai greatly wronged Hagar, and they suffered for it; but God stepped in and cared for her and her son. Abram obeyed God and gave the appointed name to his son: “Ishmael—God shall hear.” Had Abram and Sarai waited on God instead of running ahead of God, they would have avoided all that pain.
亚伯兰和撒莱令夏甲受到极大的委屈，而他们自己也因此受苦；但神却介入并照顾夏甲和她的儿子。亚伯兰听从神的话，为自己的儿子取名为“以实玛利神”，即“神必听见”。如果亚伯兰和撒莱愿意等候神而不是跑在神的前头，他们也就无需承受这些痛苦了。
Praying the Scripture 用经文祷告
- One of the hardest things in spiritual pursuit is waiting upon the Lord. The Lord is never late and he knows when the best time is. Our problem is we can’t wait. We want it and we want it NOW. Let’s pray that we’ll not only trust God but also His timing.
在属灵追求上，其中一件最难的事就是等候主。主从来不延迟，也知道何时是最好的。我们的问题是自己等不及。我们要，而且现在就要。让我们祈祷，我们不仅要相信神，也要相信祂的时间。
- Proverb says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. (3:5) How did Sarai lean on her own understanding instead of trusting God? After she waited for a long time, she ran out of patience. Instead she “helped” God by her own scheming. She gave her servant Hagar to Abraham and let her bear him a child. Her action not only brought problems to her family but contributed to the mess we face today in the world. How great a mess can be created by a person’s impatience! Let’s pray that we submit to God and wait upon Him.
《箴言》3章5节说：“你要专心仰赖耶和华，不可倚靠自己的聪明。”撒莱如何倚靠自己的聪明，而不仰赖神呢？她已等了一段很长时间，所以失去了耐心，靠自己的计划来“帮助”神。她把仆人夏甲给亚伯拉罕为妾，让她为亚伯拉罕生个孩子。她的行为不仅制造了许多家庭问题，也导致了现今世上许多的问题。一个人的急躁竟然可以造成如此巨大的祸患啊！让我们祷告自己愿顺服神并等待祂。
- Although Hagar was ill-treated yet the Lord wanted her to return to Sarai and submit to her. Interestingly, although Hagar has no clue why must it be so, she obeyed. There are times we have no clue why things happen the way they do, pray that we’ll just trust God’s goodness and obey His Word (Bible).
虽然夏甲遭到撒莱的虐待，但主要她回到撒莱身边并顺服她。有趣的是，夏甲并不知道神为什么要她这么做，但仍听从了神的话。很多时候，我们并不了解事情为什么必须这样发展，但让我们祷告，能单单相信神的美善并顺服祂的话语（圣经）。
