it's just like God

It’s just like God to do what He says He will do.  It’s Who He is; it’s His character.  He is faithful; He can be trusted.  

When the Lord Himself visited Abraham, as recorded in Genesis 18 and told him that Sarah would bear him a son in his old age, Sarah had trouble believing it.  And she heard it first hand!  She was inside the tent and overheard the conversation.  Her reaction?  She laughed.  It was one of those “are-you-kidding-me?” kind of laughs.  It didn’t make sense!  First, she couldn’t see herself at her age, with Abraham, at his age, “having pleasure”.  And even if they enjoyed the intimacy of husband and wife “at their age”, she was well past the age of child-bearing.  She was 90, and Abraham 100 years old.  

We can all relate to Sarah. After all, it was a pretty incredible, hard-to-believe promise.  But it was a promise, a promise from God no less!  But our reactions are often like hers.  You read in God’s Word to forgive.  Well, that’s fine and good, but does He really expect that in “my situation?” And He promises to forgive us if we forgive others; He promises His peace and strength if we do.  But really?  It doesn’t make sense.  How does forgiveness free me, heal me, make me stronger?  You’re right.  It doesn’t make sense.  No more than a 90 year old woman having a baby.  It doesn’t make sense.  It’s just true.  

I read in the Word to give, and not just give out of my abundance but to give beyond my ability to see how, if I give what I really need for myself, how my own needs will be met.  It doesn’t make sense.  No, it’s just true.  And then there’s the “love your enemies” thing.  How in the world does showing love to someone that I know hates me make any difference at all?  What does it change?  It changes me.  It changes my perspective.  I am the better and stronger person for it.  But that doesn’t make sense either.  It’s just true.  And the rewards are real, just like God promises.  

    “And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as

    He had spoken.”  Genesis 21: 1

In other words, God did just what He promised.  Sarah did indeed get pregnant, and she had Abraham’s son, Isaac, the son of promise.  “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” the messenger asked in Genesis 18.  No, nothing is too hard for the Lord.  It’s just too hard for us to believe sometimes.  But’s that’s ok.  The fact that we may have difficulty believing doesn’t change God’s faithfulness to His Word.  It may keep you from benefiting from the blessing of believing His promises if you can’t just take Him at His Word, but He won’t fail in the reality of those promises.  

So the next time you come across a promise in God’s Word and the reality of it just doesn’t make sense, just ask for help to accept it as the Truth it is.  Start living it out.  Put it into practice and see what God does with it. It may seem laughable at first.  But Sarah saw God’s incredible promise fulfilled.  So can you.  

Because it’s just like God to make good on a promise.