It's Impossible
Have you ever been in a situation where the issues in front of you just seemed...impossible? If that word is NOT ACCEPTABLE in an honest spiritual discussion, then how about...."extraordinarily difficult to the point of making successful resolution highly unlikely?" Yes, that is a lot of words...but you get the point!
I LOVE stories of extraordinary faith found in Scripture. I appreciate the fact that occasionally there are people that we read about, or even MEET, that show faith of the same intensity. But...I have to say that, in my experience, those people are not your average reference points for expression of faith. They are UNUSUAL.
In Genesis 18: 10-14, I see someone closer to the average. Sarah, an 89 year old woman, is confronted with data that she finds HIGHLY unlikely. I will let the Scripture speak for itself..."And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD?"
But...you might say..this is GOD Who is promising this child. And the promise has been issued for the last 24 years. God is not going to fail with this promise. Of course He isn't. But YOU and I have the narrator's point of view. WE can read ahead. It already HAPPENED- and a whole nation exists in the world on the map because of this promise- so we have an advantage.
We don't know what Sarah's relationship with God was. We know that Abraham is one of those rare individuals who have extraordinary faith. We know that Abraham heard God and responded in faith ALREADY. But...we don't have much evidence about Sarah at all, other than her marital status, age, and one past attempt at getting a kid which did not work as she expected.
She is 89. Even if people lived a bit longer back then, it is a big number. She KNOWS her body. None of the neighbor ladies are cranking out babies at anywhere near 89. She hears the promise repeated, and it simply seems...silly. God could have done this at any time in the last 24 years, maybe back when HAVING a baby seemed at least...possible. Now, it is just silly.
I have heard a few teachers throw her under the bus over this. I mean...Abe believed, right? Of course, he had the easy part. She heard the long repeated promise and said..."this is impossible now." You know, her response isnt the RIGHT response, the response of total confidence in God, but I UNDERSTAND it. There are situations in my own life which seem kind of impossible at times. Of course, I don't have Divine promises connected to those situations. No guarantees. But when I look at those and see what God seems to have done so far, the resolution seems a bit too far away.
That I am not Abraham is to no one's surprise. Abes dont coe around that often. And you might have struggled a few times, too. So...why mention this passage? Why not do the normal thing and blame Sarah and praise Abraham? Well...I am fascinated by the fact that her struggle with God's promise doesn't end the story. Maybe that is because Abe still DID have faith. Maybe, it is because this is part of the Promised Story that God plans to make happen. Maybe...just maybe...it is all about grace. I am not sure. But the baby HAPPENS. The pregnancy takes place, the delivery is celebrated.
Maybe YOU are struggling with something today...something that looks...impossible. Something you have no promise relating to. But hold on. THe same God Who has done the impossible so many times before isn't off duty yet...
I LOVE stories of extraordinary faith found in Scripture. I appreciate the fact that occasionally there are people that we read about, or even MEET, that show faith of the same intensity. But...I have to say that, in my experience, those people are not your average reference points for expression of faith. They are UNUSUAL.
In Genesis 18: 10-14, I see someone closer to the average. Sarah, an 89 year old woman, is confronted with data that she finds HIGHLY unlikely. I will let the Scripture speak for itself..."And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD?"
But...you might say..this is GOD Who is promising this child. And the promise has been issued for the last 24 years. God is not going to fail with this promise. Of course He isn't. But YOU and I have the narrator's point of view. WE can read ahead. It already HAPPENED- and a whole nation exists in the world on the map because of this promise- so we have an advantage.
We don't know what Sarah's relationship with God was. We know that Abraham is one of those rare individuals who have extraordinary faith. We know that Abraham heard God and responded in faith ALREADY. But...we don't have much evidence about Sarah at all, other than her marital status, age, and one past attempt at getting a kid which did not work as she expected.
She is 89. Even if people lived a bit longer back then, it is a big number. She KNOWS her body. None of the neighbor ladies are cranking out babies at anywhere near 89. She hears the promise repeated, and it simply seems...silly. God could have done this at any time in the last 24 years, maybe back when HAVING a baby seemed at least...possible. Now, it is just silly.
I have heard a few teachers throw her under the bus over this. I mean...Abe believed, right? Of course, he had the easy part. She heard the long repeated promise and said..."this is impossible now." You know, her response isnt the RIGHT response, the response of total confidence in God, but I UNDERSTAND it. There are situations in my own life which seem kind of impossible at times. Of course, I don't have Divine promises connected to those situations. No guarantees. But when I look at those and see what God seems to have done so far, the resolution seems a bit too far away.
That I am not Abraham is to no one's surprise. Abes dont coe around that often. And you might have struggled a few times, too. So...why mention this passage? Why not do the normal thing and blame Sarah and praise Abraham? Well...I am fascinated by the fact that her struggle with God's promise doesn't end the story. Maybe that is because Abe still DID have faith. Maybe, it is because this is part of the Promised Story that God plans to make happen. Maybe...just maybe...it is all about grace. I am not sure. But the baby HAPPENS. The pregnancy takes place, the delivery is celebrated.
Maybe YOU are struggling with something today...something that looks...impossible. Something you have no promise relating to. But hold on. THe same God Who has done the impossible so many times before isn't off duty yet...
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