May 10, 2023
Reading: Genesis 18:1-15
Focus: Genesis 18:13-14 – 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.”
Father, open my eyes today. Help me to see what You want shared. Put the words in my mind and flow them out onto my computer. Open all or our eyes and let us see You. In Jesus Name. Amen
Have you ever overheard other people talk and heard something so preposterous that you just wanted to laugh out loud? Then you had to try to keep from laughing too loud because you didn’t want anyone to know that you were eavesdropping. Or have you ever gotten the giggles in church? That is the worst. You have to keep your mouth shut and try not to let anyone know you’re laughing. Just when you think you have it under control, the person who started it all looks at you and it starts all over. There are just some times you shouldn’t laugh. In the last chapter, Abraham laughed when God confirmed that Sarah would have a baby. It’s easy to laugh when something sounds so impossible.
God had told Abraham that he would father a child with Sarah. Ninety-year-old Sarah. By this time, years had passed and Abraham was ninety-nine years old. The promised son from Sarah still had not been born. But Abraham didn’t know the rest of the story. Yet. One day, as Abraham looked out over the fields, three men appeared near Abraham’s tent under the trees of Mamre. It was the custom of the day was to give travelers a place to rest and to feed them. Abraham jumped up and offered both to these strangers. It would have been rude to ignore them. Meeting and greeting strangers, seeing to their needs is a practical way to obey God. You never know when you might be taking care of angels.
The Bible tells us that one of the three men was the Lord. I wonder if Abraham realized who they were, at first glance. I think he may have, because he immediately called him Lord and he called himself His servant. He offered to wash their feet and prepare them something to eat. He scurried about, ordering bread, choosing a choice tender calf to be prepared. Once the food was ready, he set the meal in front of them and stood back waiting to see if they needed anything else.
The Lord asked where Sarah was, although I am sure He already knew. She was in the tent. He told Abraham that when He came back to see Abraham in about a year, that Sarah would have a baby. Sarah being a dutiful wife, was listening from just inside the door of the tent. It is said that eavesdroppers never hear anything good about themselves. But Sarah heard astonishing news; she was going to have a baby. The thought of a ninety-year-old woman having a baby was absolutely hysterical. Sarah laughed quietly to herself. I can just hear it, “Yeah. Right.” The Lord heard her laughter and pointedly asked Abraham why she laughed. He asked Abraham, “. . . Is there anything too hard for the Lord?” That struck fear in her heart. This man was more than a simple traveler. She blurted out, “I did not laugh.” The Lord rebuked her. “Yes, you did laugh.”
Remember back to your school days. When someone in class got into trouble, did you laugh? Did the teacher hear it and turn to ask why you laughed? Not a comfortable feeling was it. Sarah had to be downright embarrassed. She thought she had laughed quietly to herself but the Lord heard it and called her out about it. I don’t think Sarah laughed in derision from a lack of faith but more from the doubt about what He could do with her tired, old body. I think she was afraid that she really wouldn’t be able to have a child. To top it off, she lied. Lying brings more complications than telling the truth. The most common reason for lying is fear. Sarah was afraid of being discovered, of her doubts being known.
I wonder what Sarah’s face looked like when the Lord said that. He had heard her. The Lord heard her laughter and He knew why she laughed. That is a very special quality of God. He hears even what we think to ourselves. I also wonder who the “Lord” was? Was it Jesus? We know that to look on the face of God would kill us, so, in my opinion, it was Jesus. And Jesus heard her laughter and the doubt in her question. “Will I really have a child, now that I am old?” I am sure He understood her skepticism of the idea that, at 90, she would have a child. Abraham had laughed too, but then, Sarah lied about laughing.
I wonder what would have been said if Sarah had been humble enough to admit she had laughed. There wouldn’t have been much for me to write about for one thing. I don’t know why the Lord asked why she laughed. He didn’t when Abraham laughed. Abraham was a friend of God. He probably expected Abraham to laugh because He knew the man’s heart. He knew Sarah’s heart too, but maybe He wanted her to face her doubts about what God can do. Doubt can be a big problem in a Christian’s life. It can stop a good thing in its tracks. I had my doubts about this blog thing I’ve got going on here. I could have stayed on the other side of that doubt and brushed it off as a random thought. But I prayed for guidance and pushed aside the doubt. There are still days I wonder why I am writing but I go back to the THRICE answered prayer at the beginning of this project and I know why I am still sitting at this computer writing what God lays on my heart.
God knows we have doubts. Doubts about our faith, about whether we are doing the right thing when we apply for that job that sounds soooo right. Doubts about the person we have committed to marry or decided to break up with. Doubts about our own abilities to do this or that. What are you afraid of? Failing? Failure is not always a bad thing. Failure to get a peachy job might be the best thing that ever happened to you. That job might not have been all that great in the end. My dad once asked me if I could be a failure for God. That never made a lick of sense to me. But I have learned that failure is not failure if I get up, dust myself off and try again. True failure is staying down when you have been knocked down. Failing to take my doubts to God is not a good thing either. Just know that He will always be there with open arms to talk about our doubts and comfort our tears when we fail. Then He sets us back on our feet and gives us a little nudge to put us back on the path He has planned for us.
God hears our thoughts and our prayers. The ones we say out loud and the ones we whisper in our minds. Whether they are good or bad, He hears them. As Christians we walk with Jesus. Would He be pleased with your thoughts or actions? Or would He rebuke you for unkind thoughts or hateful actions? Not only must we guard our words, but also our thoughts and our deeds. We must bring our thoughts, feelings and actions into line with the word of God. He hears us when we are at work and at play. What we have on our minds colors the way we act and how we treat others. Philippians 4:8 tells us, “. . . whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” King David prayed, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Jehovah, my rock, and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).
God knows our hearts. What we do and what we say makes an impact on others, good or bad. Especially if we are known to be Christians. Jesus meditated on the word of God. He knew the scriptures back and forth. He had no doubts about God’s love, about God’s power and about God’s will. He showed us how to live. Jesus knew that people watched how He lived his life and how He treated everyone equally, the outright sinner and the so-called saints. He knew their thoughts and their hearts. He knew that many did not measure up to God’s standards. That’s why Jesus came, so that we could measure up to God’s standards.
What does God hear from you?
Father God, I am a woman with unclean lips as Isaiah said to You so many centuries ago. Cleanse my heart and my mind of unkindness, gossip and hate. Open my mouth to speak only words of kindness and love. Prevent me from saying spiteful things in the face of criticism, insult and hate. As King David said, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, oh Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” In Jesus Name, Amen.
Food for Thought
- Who do you think ‘the Lord’ is that visited Abraham?
- Why do think Sarah was eavesdropping?
- After all this time of Abraham being promised a son by Sarah, why do you think she doubted it?
- Are your thoughts always acceptable to God? Why?
- Do you talk and act one way around Christian friends and then differently with co-workers?
