HeBrews: A Better Blend
By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive , even beyond the proper time of life,since she considered Him faithful who had promised.
Just to make sure we are on the same page and understand the enormity of what takes place, recall with me that Sarah and Abraham were well past childbearing age. In fact, they were past the age where having sex is likely to happen. Things just don’t work well or at all when one is 90 and 99 years old, if you know what I mean. In addition to all that, even when Sarah had been of child-bearing age, she had been unable to conceive. So, it is a gross understatement to say that the deck was severely stacked against Abraham and Sarah ever having children. Ever!
If we visit the complete story in Genesis 18, we find some surprise visitors arriving at Abraham and Sarah’s tent. Allow me to set up the scene for you. Abraham, with the assistance of Sarah and a young man in their employ, has welcomed three men into their home, washed their feet and fed them. Now, Abraham and the men begin to talk business. Sarah, the typical woman with curiosity about to kill her, stands behind the tent flap just behind where the men are sitting. She wants to know why they have come and has no intention of missing a word that is spoken.
Suddenly, she hears her name. They ask where she is. Oh my, what is this about? No one is ever interested in a woman unless they want her to do something for them. Her heart begins to beat faster.
What they say next causes her to laugh. In fact, she laughs so hard she has tears running down her face and has a really hard time being quiet about her laughter. That man just told her husband that this time next year she, Sarah, would be holding a baby boy that she had given birth to. She is 90 years old! Talk about Rolling On The Floor Laughing (ROTFL)!! If it hadn’t been so outlandishly funny, it would have made her cry out tears of regret because she would never know the joy of being a mother.
Sarah thought to herself, “Mister, did you fall and hit your head at some point? Don’t you realize I am 90 years old? And have you even looked at Abraham? Things don’t work any more. There is no way humanly possible!
What happens next is something that Sarah would never forget as long as she lived. The man looks Abraham right in the eye and says, “Why did Sarah laugh when I said that? Is anything too hard for God?”
You see, humanly possible is vastly different than divinely possible. Sarah was operating only in the human realm, forgetting the God they serve is capable of more than we can ask or imagine.
Suddenly, and without thinking, Sarah gives herself away as she jumps to defend herself. She says, “I did not laugh.”
The man says, “Yes, you did.”
At this point,we are left to wonder exactly what happened. Did the fact that the man knew exactly what had gone on in Sarah’s mind bring forth a realization that she was in the same room with a messenger from God? Was there doubt in Sarah’s heart that God could or would do what this man said He would do? What did Abraham say? Did Sarah ask any more questions? At what point did she believe?
We need more. We are women who want details. Yet, God chose not to give them to us. We know that everything happened just as God promised. Sarah had a son whom she named Isaac. Isaac became the father of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel. He was the patriarch of the twelve tribes of Israel and from the tribe of Judah would come the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The ultimate sacrifice to cover sin would be made by Jesus, the descendant of Abraham and Sarah. While Isaac was the child of the promise, Jesus was the Promise of God. God kept his promise to Abraham and to Sarah and every Jewish person that has ever been born is a descendant of Abraham.
In spite of the fact that the prophecy was beyond belief and so outlandish it begged for a laugh, Sarah, in faith, believed that God was able to do as He promised.
Friend, what circumstance in your life is begging for a little bit of Sarah-type faith? What is God asking of you that you just have to laugh at because it is not humanly possible? Is it a circumstance that is crazier than a 90 year old getting pregnant and having a baby? What promise of God is intertwined in your situation? You may throw your head back and laugh at the absurdity of the situation, but when you have finished your laugh, I want to encourage you to believe that God is able and He is enough in your life. If he has promised something, it will happen. Maybe not in your timeframe, but it will happen in God’s timing. If God is asking something of you that seems impossible, please just believe that He is able to bring to pass what He is asking. Stay faithful to the last word you heard from God, my dear friend. Believe Him for the impossible!!
MEDITATION MOMENT: John MacArthur says “faith sees the invisible, hears the inaudible, touches the intangible, and accomplishes the impossible.” Is there something invisible, inaudible, intangible or impossible in your life that needs some faith applied to it?
