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Abraham, Part 15 - You Did Laugh

Genesis 18v9-15

18th December 2010

As we saw last week, when God appeared to Abraham, Abraham gave Him the best welcome he could. But God's message was really for Sarah. God had already re-iterated His promise to Abraham recently, and Abraham had laughed (Genesis 17:17). Now we read:

Genesis 18:9-12
"Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked him. "There, in the tent," he said.
Then the LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son."
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"

As with Abraham, so with Sarah. They had waited so long for the fulfilment of God's promise that now, towards the end of their lives, they found it too incredible to believe. And you and I can be the same. We wonder why God didn't do what He promised earlier, when we were stronger, and we think we must somehow have missed His blessing. We can even forget His promises. And when He visits us again, we almost dare not take it seriously, for fear of further disappointment.

Apparently, the Hebrew word translated "worn out" here is usually used to describe old clothes. It's as if Sarah is describing herself as "threadbare". And we can feel threadbare, physically or spiritually. But our weakness does not limit God's power:

Genesis 18:13-14
Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am 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."

Ask yourself the same question: Is anything too hard for the Lord? No matter how you feel, no matter how long you've waited, no matter how weak you are, physically or spiritually, God can fulfil His purposes in you and for you. Can't He?

Put like that, it's obvious that it's never too late or too difficult for God to do what He wants to do in your life. Sarah realised this and got embarrassed. In fact, she was more than embarrassed, she knew that laughing at the word of God is a big mistake:

Genesis 18:15
Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh."
But he [God] said, "Yes, you did laugh."

God knows the state of our hearts. he knows when we've given up on His promises and refused to take his word seriously. God confronts us with our sin and unbelief. But God still gave Sarah the baby He had promised her. How great God's mercy is!

As with Abraham and Sarah, so with us. Paul knew himself to be weak but God said to him:

2 Corinthians 12:9
..."My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."...

And Paul responded:

2 Corinthians 12:9-10
...Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

When we are weak, then we are strong. There is nothing God cannot do in and through us, if we will stop laughing and doubting, and believe His word.