In Genesis 17, God came to Abraham in a vision and told him that he would become the father of many nations. God promised him that he would give birth to a son and through this son all the nations of the earth would be blessed. While God was talking about a yet to be born Isaac, Abraham was thinking about Ishmael. They were having different conversations.
You see, God could never use Ishmael to effect His purposes because Ishmael was a product of Abraham’s ingenuity to help himself and help God fulfil His promise of giving him a son. So Ishmael was disqualified. He was not a part of God’s plan for Abraham.
But Abraham cried out to God to use Ishmael, to carry out His purposes through Ishmael.
Genesis 17:18
And [he] said to God, Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!
An Ishmael looks successful but it will stagnate you. You cannot grow beyond the level of an Ishmael. Yes it is successful. Yes, you are doing well, but an Ishmael will get to a certain point beyond which it cannot grow. Your success will plateau and will remain at that point for as long as you want to continue to resist the Isaac God wants to bring into your life.
An Ishmael is the enemy of your destiny. An Ishmael may look good but it is a satanic weapon designed by the enemy to limit you, cripple your progress and stop you from rising to the next level in God’s plan. An Ishmael may bring you money, success, fame and popularity but it is a weapon in the hands of the enemy against you.
An Ishmael is a ceiling beyond which you cannot rise, it is a containment beyond which you cannot go. An Ishmael creates a satanic containment around your life that keeps you from expanding, multiplying, increasing. The containment may be financial, geographical or spiritual. As long as you hold on to an Ishmael you cannot break out of the limitations you presently experience. Until you release an Ishmael you will be severely limited. Continue reading →