The word
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In Genesis 18, Sarah and Abraham had been waiting for decades for their promised son. And Sarah was very old and past childbearing age. And Abraham was told that Sarah was going to have a son. And it says in Genesis 18:12, Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I'm worn out and my Lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?" I believe she was not only talking about her body being worn out, but also being worn out from hoping and believing in the promise and being disappointed for so long, worn out from that fight of faith.
And I know that a lot of us can relate to that. But the Lord knowing full well how long Sarah had waited and the impossible situation, how hard it was, he responded to Sarah laughing. In Genesis 18 13 and 14, it says, "Then the Lord said to Abraham, why did Sarah laugh and say, will I really have a child now that I'm old? Is anything too hard for the Lord?
I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son. And we can really learn something from Abraham's response to this situation. Romans 4:18 through25 and then NLT says, "Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping, believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, "That's how many descendants you will have." And Abraham's faith did not weaken.
Even though at about a hundred years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead. And so was Sarah's womb. Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger.
And in this, he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. And because of Abraham's faith, God counted him as righteous. And when God had when God counted him as righteous, it wasn't just for Abraham's benefit.
It was recorded for our benefit, too. Assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him. The one who raised Jesus, our Lord, from the dead. He was handed over to die because of our sins and he was raised to life to make us right with God.
Something a lot of people don't know about this story is that Sarah died around 37 years after birthing Isaac. And then Abraham remarried a woman named Coutura and he went on to have six more sons. So, this kind of bothered me when I read it because I thought, God, that's not fair. Sarah only got to have one child and Abraham got to have so many when they both waited so long for the promise.
And I felt like God highlighted to me the difference in their response. Sarah laughed at God's promise. Abraham was convinced that he would be faithful. To be fair, Hebrews 11:11 says, "And by faith, even Sarah, who is past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who made the promise." Her faith is also what enabled her to have their one promised child.
She did have Isaac. But Sarah and Abraham's response was different. And that mattered to God. Sarah's response sounded like bitterness or unbelief.
Abraham's response sounded like childlike faith, trust, and expectancy. Our response matters to God. Our faith and belief matters to God. It says and is displayed all throughout the Bible that he is a rewarder of faith.
So whatever situation you are facing, no matter how great the impossibility, no matter how long it's been, I challenge you to respond in faith, to respond in childlike expectancy because that is the very thing that enables you to birth the longawwaited promise. If you need practical help with how you respond and living out this kind of faith in your everyday life, the links for my coaching are in this caption below this video. And don't forget to share with a friend that needs encouragement.