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So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?” Genesis 18:12
God’s promise of a son was long overdue. During the time of Abraham and Sarah a man’s wealth was measured by the amount of livestock owned and children fathered. Many a wife was cast aside or socially alienated if children weren’t brought into the mix. Although it sounds harsh in our world today, sons were more highly honored than daughters as well.
It’s really no surprise then that Sarah was little bitter and skeptical when the visitors arrived that day. The Bible refers to the three as ‘the Lord’. Was this an earthly, temporary manifestation of the trinity? We aren’t sure. What we do know is that God was present and he had a special message of hope for Sarah. Finally, at long last, just one year from now she would bring the promised son into the world.
The promise was really a restatement of a promise given long ago without any sign that it would be fulfilled. Since then Sarah offered up her maid-servant to Abraham and a son was born to this couple. Among other things, the birth of this baby caused conflict in the family (a conflict that goes on today) and reminded Sarah once more that she was the problem. After all, if Abraham had no trouble fathering a son with Hagar, he obviously wasn’t the problem, right?
We may tend to look down on Sarah for scoffing at God. We can talk about how she is showing a lack of faith or trust. We can question her patience. But in reality each of us is guilty at times of laughing at God’s promises for us.
God’s promises DON’T ALWAYS FOLLOW NATURAL LOGIC. Sarah was well past childbearing age. It was a biological impossibility for her to bear children. If we believe God to be who we say He is we also must acknowledge that He is not bound to the laws of nature. He controls nature. Nature does not limit or control God. Sarah made the mistake of believing in the order of nature, rather than believing the promise of God.
God’s promises COME IN HIS TIME NOT OURS. We live in a microwave world. Everything is instant from our potatoes to the way we communicate. As Sovereign God our Father knows best the timeframe for the events of our lives to take place. Waiting for God’s timing is difficult now, but much better for the future.
God’s promises DO NOT ALWAYS RELY ON OUR ABILITY TO BELIEVE OR UNDERSTAND. God told Sarah she would have a son in one year. Sarah laughed in disbelief and later lied to try to cover up that laughter. Even so, one year later she was holding her very own son. Imagine the joy she must have felt just three months after the visit when she felt the stirrings of life inside of her. For the next nine months Sarah carried with her the realization that God is truly God and His promises do come true.
God’s promises ARE NOT DEPENDENT ON ANYTHING WE DO. Later in Genesis (Genesis 21:1) the Bible says that God extended Grace to Sarah. She didn’t deserve to have that baby. Imagine. She laughed in the face of almighty God. God’s promises are based on His ability to fulfill them, not on our worthiness to receive them.
Don’t let time and circumstances allow doubt to creep into your mind. God can do great and mighty things in your life! God’s promises are for you and you don’t have to do or be anything to receive His promises! It may take longer than you think or wish, but in time He will accomplish in you all that He desires as you grow in relationship to Him.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I have to admit to you that I am impatient at times with You. It seems like you have promised me things and it takes much longer for those things to come to pass than I’d like. Thank you for the things you have done in my life and for the fact that you will accomplish all you desire for me. Help me to learn to trust you more and wait for you to work as only you can do. Amen.
Israel is no stronger than its capital, Samaria, and Samaria is no stronger than its king, Pekah son of Remaliah. Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm.” Isaiah 7:9 (NLT)
“Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm.” It’s a short little phrase stuck in the middle of an important part of Israel’s history. King Ahaz had to make a decision. Would he really put his faith in God and stand firm against the enemies that wanted to destroy Israel or would he put his trust in a neighboring countries power?
In the midst of his emotional and mental struggle God said “Go ahead. Ask me to show you a sign of what you should do and what will happen.” It was a crisis of faith for the King. Where was his true allegiance? Ahaz chose not to ask for the sign. In the end he trusted the neighboring power rather than the God of heaven and his kingdom was ripped from his hands.
Each of us must choose where our true allegiance is. It’s a daily decision, even a moment by moment decision. The enemy wants us to doubt who is really in control. It happened in the Garden of Eden, “Did God REALLY say you’d die?” It happened in during Jesus time on earth when He visited His hometown and the Bible tells us “He did no miracles there because of their unbelief”.
As Christ-followers we must always remember that God’s way is the best way. We must measure each of our actions according to what God wants and allow Him to determine the outcome by His power. God CAN do anything we ask but He requires that we first trust Him to do what is best for us, even if His best seems detrimental at the time.
There will be bumps along the road. There are going to be forks in the journey with confusing sign posts directing you along the way. As you grow closer to Christ, through obedience and knowledge of His word, He will show you the path to take. Don’t be afraid to ask Him. Don’t impatiently take action on your own.
Never forget that the Creator God of the universe loves you and wants you to experience all He has for you. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. But you need to make that first step. Each of us needs to make a conscious decision to trust Him above all else and actively believe that He can and will see you through life’s obstacles. That’s what His love is all about.
PRAYER: Father God, I acknowledge that you are the creator and sustainer of the universe. I believe that you have all things in control. But I confess to you that there are many times during my day when I am faced with a choice to follow my own wisdom or ask you for direction. This almost always takes me down the wrong path. Forgive me for living in fear. Forgive me for following my heart and not what I know to be true. Help me to stand firm and step out in faith, truly believing that You can and will accomplish great things if I let You have control of my life. Amen.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1
Imagine what it would be like if you were caught red-handed in a crime. You were arrested and brought to jail, and then before the judge. There was no way out. You were guilty. The judge knows it, everyone knows it. Your crime carries the punishment of life in prison with no hope of parole. In essence your life is over. All the freedom, all the dreams, all the hopes for your future have been dashed by this one desperate and stupid decision.
Now imagine that while you are standing before the judge he stands up, comes around the bench and stands beside you. He states to all in the court room that He, Himself, will take full responsibility for your actions. As a result, you are free to go. The judge not only removes the penalty for your sin, but, with the power vested in his position he removes your criminal record as well. You are free to go with no record of any wrong doing. Awesome!
You leave the court room that day and go directly to the local office supply store and by a lanyard to hang around your neck. You hang a sign from your neck that says, “Guilty. Sentenced to life in prison” in big bold letters. Everyone you come in contact with sees the sign and avoids you. If, by chance they don’t see it, you point it out to them, making sure they are aware of your despicable crime.
Everyday that lanyard reminds you of your failure. Some days the weight of it is almost more than you can bear. It keeps you from pursuing your dreams. It affects the relationships you have now, and keeps you from moving ahead to build new, vibrant relationships. Eventually, the weight of the lanyard is too much. You lose it all.
One day you are sitting on the curb and you hear a voice behind you. You turn to see the judge who pardoned you. He has a completely shocked look on his face and asks you what you are doing here. You show him the lanyard and explain how its weight has completely destroyed your life.
The judge sits down on the curb beside you. Gently he reaches around and takes the lanyard from your neck. The relief you feel when the weight of the lanyard is gone is unbelievable. “Thank you!” You say to the judge. He puts his arm around your shoulder and looks into your eyes. “You were never meant to bear this burden,” he says as he looks you straight in the eyes, “I took this from you once. Why take it back. You are free. Now, go! Go enjoy the freedom of life!” With that he takes the lanyard and destroys it before your very eyes and you feel freedom like you have never felt before.
That’s what it means to be free of condemnation. When the apostle Paul penned Romans 8:1 he wanted us to know that we are free. We don’t need to be tied to the sins of our past. They are done. They have been removed by the judge. You are free because of Jesus Christ to enjoy life, to pursue your dreams and to grow healthy strong relationships with those around you.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. Thank you for taking my sin on the cross. Thank you that I no longer have to be burdened by the mistakes of my past. You know I have made many mistakes, hurt people and destroyed the trust of many. Please forgive me for those sins. I praise you that I am no longer condemned. Empower me to live life free of the feelings of condemnation. I hereby give you my lanyard. Amen.
Then Jehoahaz prayed for the Lord’s help, and the Lord heard his prayer, for he could see how severely the king of Aram was oppressing Israel. 2 Kings 13:4 (NLT)
Someone once said, “When a plane is crashing, everyone believes in God!” There is some truth to that, even among those of us that are followers of Jesus Christ. We may let our prayer life slide and let the dust gather on our Bibles while we skip church for a few extra minutes of sleep. Then, when illness attacks, a job is lost, a relationship goes south, or any other crisis happens we begin to think about God.
That attitude isn’t a new. Jehoahaz was a King of Israel during Old Testament times. Israel had many kings. Some were righteous leader’s intent on following the laws of Jehovah God. Others led the nation down the path of idolatry and rebellion. They were more interested in personal gain and power than they were following God. Time and time again God would have to send enemy kings to discipline His people though exile, or captivity.
Jehoahaz did evil in the eyes of the Lord by leading the people in the worship of calves and idols rather than worshiping the true God. As a result of his evil ways God allowed an enemy king to harass and control the people of Israel.
In the midst of this Jehoahaz finally turned his eyes to heaven and prayed for deliverance. God heard his prayer and delivered his people because Jehoahaz prayed to him. The prayers of Jehoahaz were not heard because he repented of his sin or because he was righteous. He finally turned to God because the calves that he worshipped weren’t working. He turned to the one source of power he knew he could count on, Jehovah God! God delivered his people because of who God was and His promises to Abraham and David.
The same is true today. We are not forgiven because we’ve cleaned up our lives, or because we’ve made a bunch of good things happen around us. We are forgiven purely because of Jesus. You don’t have to do a bunch of ‘things’ to gain God’s favor. You have to ask and believe!
Even though God delivered His people from the enemy they refused to give up the worship of their idols. They still offered sacrifice to the calves in the backyard. As a result, Jehoahaz and his kingdom never enjoyed the full blessings of what God had in store for them.
The God of heaven is ready and willing to extend His grace and forgiveness to us time after time. His grace is free and unlimited for all who believe. But God also desires to shower us with His blessings. God’s blessings come to us as we grow in relationship to Him and learn to follow His ways. If we are like Jehoahaz and keep our calves hidden in the backyard we will never fully experience the blessings He has in store for us.
PRAYER: Holy God, I thank you today for the grace and forgiveness I have received through Jesus Christ. I acknowledge that you are the creator, sustainer of the universe. I confess that there are still some idols hidden in my backyard. I ask that through the power of your Holy Spirit those idols would be revealed to me. Empower me to remove them once and for all from my life so I can experience all the blessings you have for me. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 