Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
Genesis 18:14
Dear Church and Friends,
I love the setting of this chapter. Abraham is sitting in the shade of his tent door sometime during the middle of the day. It’s hot, he’s tired from his morning activities and then he suddenly sees three men standing just down the road. How did he not notice them before. He immediately knows who they are.
During his fellowship with his triune company the Lord gave Abraham a promise. Sarah laughed at the promise and the Lord asked two questions. He knew the answer to both. Therefore, he meant for his hearers to learn from them.
- Question #1, Why did Sarah laugh? Sometimes the impossibility of a thing is so exaggerated that it strikes our mind as humorous. For example, If I said I was going to swim from San Diego, CA to the Fiji islands non-stop. You would probably laugh and then tell me that’s an impossible task, not to mention dangerous. There are just some things a human cannot do. That was Sarah’s position – a 90+ year old woman can’t have a child.
- Question #2, Is any thing to hard for the Lord? This sets Sarah’s reasoned impossibility against God’s possibility. Jesus actually answers this question for us in Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27, and Luke 18:27. It is impossible for a 90+ woman to have a child unless the Lord says she can. The promise changes everything.
We must measure our certainties against his possibilities. Remember the words of Peter, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). Escaping polluting desire and worldly corruption may seem like an impossibility except that we have promises.
Challenge your certainties today by introducing his promises into your calculations. It will change everything.
Music: Today we go to the Islands, Enjoy He’s the Only Reason by Maunalua.
Prayer Request: Please pray for my friend, Matt Shepard, who serves the US Navy as a chaplain. His ship was hit hard with the Covid-19 virus. He was fine until last Monday when he tested positive for the virus. The Navy quarantined him and several other officers. They’re all in the states but are not able to see family, or friends. Next week he’ll be retested and released if the virus is gone. Pray for his wife and children who are worried for him.
Catechism: The Principles of the Christian Religion.
Question 116: What sentence shall be pronounced upon the wicked?
Answer: Depart from me ye cursed, into everlasting fire, which is prepared for the Devil and his angels.
“But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil. And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you.”
All my best.
Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
Genesis 18:15
The Bible Bistro 