Genesis 18:1-15
It was the hottest time of the day and Abraham was sitting in the doorway of his tent where the air was slightly cooler. Suddenly he became aware of the presence of three “men” to whom he hastened to offer typical Bedouin hospitality. When the meal was ready Abraham took it out to their guests while Sarah stayed in the tent, as was customary in their culture.
As Abraham would later realise, the three men were not what they first seemed; they were the Lord, in human form, and two angels and they had come with a message for Sarah. Having established that she was within earshot, they repeated what the Lord had previously told Abraham – that, within a year, they would have a son. It is unlikely that this was news to Sarah; Abraham would surely have told her what the Lord had said to him during their last encounter. However, her reaction makes it clear that she did not believe it. She was still focused on the natural facts of the situation, which made the very idea of her bearing a child at her time of life sound utterly ridiculous.
Sarah did not laugh out loud but her inner reaction was one of cynical mirth. And, though she was hidden within the tent, the Lord knew it and rebuked her for her unbelief. He asked her a question that we all need to answer: “Is anything too hard (too wonderful, too marvellous) for the Lord?” The answer, of course, is that there is nothing that is beyond the Lord’s capability. He created the universe with His words, so it is not difficult for Him to shift or change anything – however impossible it might look from a human standpoint. The problem lies with us. As we have seen in previous devotionals, God partners with men to accomplish His purposes on earth. He needed Sarah to cooperate with Him in faith before this promised child could be born.
I believe this encounter changed something in Sarah. Hebrews 11:11 tells us, “By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.” Sarah came to the point where she chose to focus on the faithfulness of the Lord rather than the natural facts. When she and Abraham were joined together in hope, God was able to do what He said.
There are times when we face the same choice as Sarah. When we face situations that look humanly impossible, what will we believe – the promise of God or the natural facts? As Smith Wigglesworth put it: “There is nothing impossible with God. All the impossibility is with us when we measure God by the limitations of our unbelief.” God does not lie or go back on His word. We can trust Him absolutely, even for the impossible.
Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”
Prayer
Father God,
I know that You are great and mighty and that nothing is too difficult for You. Forgive me that I so often doubt You because I judge according to what I see and think, rather than believing what You say. Help me to learn to push past what the world says is possible and to trust Your promises even when they seem impossible.
Amen.
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