Life Journal, January 7, 2011
Genesis 18, 19; Psalm 3; Luke 7

LAUGHING AT GOD

Scripture

Then one of them said, "I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah will have a son!"

Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent. Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children. So she laughed silently to herself and said, "How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especailly when my master--my husband--is also so old?"

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."

Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, "I didn't laugh."

But the Lord said, "No, you did laugh."

Genesis 18.10-15

Observation

God can do anything He wants to do--circumstances don't stop Him.

Application (How will I be different today because of what I have just read?)

How many times have I laughed at God because of something impossible He has said He is going to do? God speaks into my life--I don't see it happen immediately (afterall, it should be on my time table)--so I don't believe it is going to happen. Later, he reminds me of what He has said--and I think, "yeah, sure" believing it is too late--I laugh at God.

God had previously promised Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son. It didn't happen right then, so they both just let it go. So, when God says, 'okay, it's time now,' Sarah laughs because they are both too old to have children. But God replies, 'Is anything too hard for the Lord?'

How often have I laughed at God--not trusting that He is going to do what He has said He would--in part because He didn't do it immediately. How many blessings have I missed because I gave up too soon . . . not willing to wait for God's perfect timing?

It is all about trusting God . . . do I trust that He will do what He says?? (Even when it doesn't look like I think it should or He doesn't do it in my timing)

Proverbs 3.5-6 has to be foundational in my life. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take."

May this verse become so much a part of me that it reflected in how I live all of my life.

Prayer

Father God, forgive me for not trusting You as I should. May I be found trusting--not laughing/not believing--in Your promises to me. Help me to live my life with Proverbs 3.5-6 being what guides me.