Today’s Reading: Genesis 17:9 – 18:15, Psalm 69
Although it is not always easy, there is joy in resting instead of resisting. Abraham loved his son, Ishmael, and he asked God to fulfill His promise through his son. God had something different, something better, for Abraham but it was beyond Abraham’s comprehension. God promised to confirm His covenant in about a year, through a son born of Sarah and named Isaac. It required faith for Abraham to accept God’s will in God’s way in God’s time.
Three men appeared to Abraham one day to once again confirm God’s promise of a son born to Sarah (possibly the Lord and two angels). Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent and laughed silently to herself saying, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master – my husband – is also so old?” (18:12)
Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” – Genesis 18:13-14
We may need a reminder this morning that what is impossible for us is possible with God. What could our life look like if we surrendered our ideas of what God can do to the God who can do anything.
O God, you know how foolish I am; my sins cannot be hidden from you. — Psalm 69:5
Sarah struggled in her faith but she did not stay in that struggle. It is possible that Sarah always looked back with regret at her initial response to God’s promise and to the mess she made when she tried to force God’s promise through her servant, Hagar. But she did not stay in the struggle to believe or the shame of her mess. Listen to what the writer of Hebrews says about this woman loved by God.
It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead – a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them. – Hebrews 11:11-12
One of my prayers for 2022 is that God will reveal His mercy to me — that He will help me understand what mercy truly means. As I was studying the definition of mercy, I came across Mathew Schmalz’ description of mercy as a “love that responds to human need in an unexpected or unmerited way.” This morning, I recognized a moment of mercy right here in Genesis 17 — that God would give Sarai a new name and pour out His blessings on her, even after she had tried to manipulate the fulfillment of His promise. From now on her name would be Sarah, and she would be called the mother of nations.
Answer my prayers, O Lord, for your unfailing love is wonderful.
Take care of me, for your mercy is so plentiful. — Psalm 69:16
The story of Sarah’s struggle to believe and God’s compassionate mercy continues to impact lives today. If God’s promise was to give Sarah a son when she was 20 years old, how much faith would have been required. If she was found to be with child soon after marriage, God would not have received the glory for the miracle of Isaac. What a great reminder to start off my day! With a hot cup of coffee on this beautiful morning and a word from the Lord, I’m eager to face what is ahead. All of the HOW questions rattling around in my brain have the same answer – God’s will, God’s way, and in God’s time.
El-Shaddai, I place my day in your hands.
God Almighty, I place my life in your hands.
Sovereign Lord, I let go and let you decide what happens from here.
I long to experience your will, your way, in your time. Amen.