Genesis 18:11-18
“ Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” 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.”
Imagine you and your spouse are on in years, well beyond the years for having children. But then the Lord reveals to you that you’re going to have a baby! Laughable. Unbelievable. That ship has long since sailed. But this is what happened to Abraham and Sarah. Though the Lord had told them on several occasions that He was going to build a mighty nation through their lineage, they did not see it as a possibility. It seemed foolish. So they both laughed at God’s proposition (Genesis 17:17 and 18:12).
Yet God does the very thing He said He would, this impossible feat. (Imagine that.) The following year Abraham and Sarah do have a son, Isaac, and later his wife, Rebecca, bears him two twin boys: Jacob and Esau. Through Jacob (and his 4 wives) come twelve sons whose families become the tribes of Israel and still a nation today.
What seems impossible to us is a sure thing to God. When we look to Scripture, we first see God inviting us to step out into something extraordinary and next see God consistently doing what He says He will. How many times in our lives do we have an idea or dream and cast it aside because it does not seem attainable? How many people actually pursue the dream that seems impossible? Very few. We do things that are safe and predictable; and this is not exactly a bad thing. God has given us wisdom and discernment so that we might go through life making sound judgments that will be good for us, instead of wild recklessness.
However, there is something to stepping out where God is leading, trusting that He will provide and do what He says He will. It may not be instinctive, but it is definitely part of our DNA as Christians to trust God and go for the impossible.
So how about you? What is God leading you towards and asking you to have big faith? What is the thing that seems impossible to do, yet with God would be completely possible? I think some of the reason we don’t step out in faith with God in new areas is because we haven’t even slowed down to listen. I know I am guilty of this. First, we must pray and learn God’s will so that we can move in the direction He is leading us. And then we must trust Him and do as He asks.
Trust God to do anything, even though it seems crazy and impossible. He is the Almighty One! Trust Him to do what He says He will do. “Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually.” Psalm 105:4
God, forgive us because we sometimes forget that you watch over us. We forget that you call the weak and the ill-equipped to do things that you will manifest in them. Forgive us when we only do that which is safe. Help us to trust you implicitly with all