Genesis 30:2
And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
A frustrated Jacob asked his wife Rachel, Am I in God’s stead? He was frustrated because she wanted a child and could not get one. She blamed Jacob for her womb being closed when Jacob did not have the power to open or close her womb. He was reminding his wife that God never gave him the role of being God and that she had the same power to talk to God as He did.
As a pastor of a church, many people come to me wanting me to be God in their life by waving some wand over their head to make bad disappear and good to happen. I often think as Jacob did as these come to me, Am I in God’s stead? People come to me wanting me to help them out of their financial situation when I have the same power to talk to God as they do. No pastor has a wand to wave over someone’s head to turn their lives around. The pastor has one power that the church member has, and that power is prayer. I wish I could make sick people well. I wish I had the foresight to see why God allows certain people to struggle. I wish I had the power to make a troubled child do right. I wish I could make a spouse stop doing their foolish acts. However, just like Jacob, I have no power that they don't have. Every person has the same access to God that I have, and the only power I have to turn situations around is the power of prayer.
My friend, I do believe you ought to go to your pastor to ask for his advice in troubled situations, but don't get upset at the pastor about your situation not stopping because he doesn't have the power to control life. Your pastor is human just like you are, and if he had that power to turn your life around, you would have the same power. Let me give some advice on what you can do when you want a human to be in God’s stead.
First, run to God in prayer just like the pastor you want to turn your life around must do. The greatest power to turn life situations around is always found in prayer. The God that answers the pastor’s prayer will also answer your prayer. The pastor does not have special access in prayer just because he is your pastor. Yes, God does listen to the pastor, but He will listen to you as well if you would just pray. Always remember that the promises of God to answer prayer are not to the pastor, but to the Christian.
Second, don't hold God or your pastor hostage to your bitterness because of your bad choices that brought bad situations upon you. Your pastor did not force you to make bad decisions. God gave you His Word to keep you from making bad decisions. Therefore, don't be foolish in making your situation worse by running from God or your pastor.
Third, realize that God has a purpose for not giving you what you want immediately. Always trust God’s divine providence that He is working out His eternal plan through your life. Be patient and trust God through these difficult times instead of being impatient and making your situation worse by forging forward.
Fourth, keep doing right until God does answer your prayer. The worst thing to do in these times is to stop doing right. Keep doing right, trust God, invest your life in others, and you will be pleased when God is in His stead when the finished product of God’s plan comes to reality.
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