{"id":12755,"date":"2026-05-10T19:42:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T19:42:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/2beencouraged.com\/blog\/?page_id=12755"},"modified":"2026-05-10T19:48:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T19:48:19","slug":"ishmaels-1-tuesday-may-12-2026","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/2beencouraged.com\/blog\/ishmaels-1-tuesday-may-12-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Ishmaels\u00a0(1)\u00a0– Tuesday, May 12, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation \u2013 Genesis 17:20<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEverything looks good.\u00a0\u00a0I only need to run a background check, and once that comes back negative, I\u2019ll welcome you aboard as an entry-level account specialist.\u00a0\u00a0How does that sound?\u201d Jennifer, the hiring officer, declared.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cLike I need to tell you that you\u2019ll probably see a recording for underage drinking at eighteen. Ms. Richardson, I\u2019m no longer reckless like I was back then.\u00a0\u00a0I learned my lesson,\u201d Carly solemnly announced.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cI believe you have.\u00a0 \u00a0I assure you that if it’s the only thing that pops up, then I\u2019ll be showing you your desk later today,\u201d Jennifer said with a smile.<\/p>\n

Ishmael may have been the result of Abraham and Sarah’s impatience, but he wasn\u2019t an accident, nor a mistake. \u00a0God foreknew his arrival and ensured His care.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And He will do the same for my \u201ccarts before the horses.\u201d\u00a0<\/em> \u00a0This had been my assessment of certain personal rash decisions as I was reminded of Abraham and Sarah\u2019s first child, Ishmael, and the assurance of his future: \u201cBehold, I have blessed him\u201d (Genesis 17:20).<\/p>\n

Maybe like me, you\u2019ve pondered former choices that are perceived to be impediments to your future.\u00a0\u00a0However, please be comforted, as I\u2019ve been, that just as Abraham and Sarah were rewarded with the son they had been promised, so will the promises given us be fulfilled.\u00a0\u00a0Because our Ishmaels, metaphorically speaking to be past questionable decisions, have already been incorporated into God\u2019s plans for us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation \u2013 Genesis 17:20 \u201cEverything looks good.\u00a0\u00a0I only need to run a background check, and once that comes back negative, … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Ishmaels\u00a0(1)\u00a0– Tuesday, May 12, 2026”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-12755","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/2beencouraged.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/2beencouraged.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/2beencouraged.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2beencouraged.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2beencouraged.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12755"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/2beencouraged.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12755\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12759,"href":"https:\/\/2beencouraged.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12755\/revisions\/12759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/2beencouraged.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}