Has God ever given you a promise that is hard to believe? Did you think that you are not the right person, that you are not prepared or like Sara, do you think that your age for that has passed? Today we will talk about Sarah and a God who makes the impossible, possible.
If you don't know the story, Sarah was Abraham's wife. Abraham receives a promise from God that his offspring would be numberless. Genesis 13: 15-16: All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. The problem? When he receives the promise, not only are Abraham and his wife advanced in age, they have no children. So how could this be accomplished?
Later, in Genesis 18 we read the moment when the angels visited Abraham and Sarah and gave them the news that in a year, Sarah would have that promised son. Many criticize Sarah's disbelief in laughing at the promise, but the reality is that our reaction would be no different. Sarah was 90 years old when she gave birth to Isaac. In our human nature, a child at Sarah's age is simply impossible. During the story, we see Sarah's unbelief when she offers Abraham her maid Hagar to fulfill what God had promised them. Sarah did not believe that God could use her womb. Sara hesitated throughout the entire process.
Sara doubted the fulfillment of the promise because 24 years had passed and she had not received her miracle. Maybe God deposited a word on you a year ago, two or maybe like Sarah, several decades have passed and you still do not see the fulfillment of that promise. It is normal to feel that faith has been lost, to feel that God was wrong or that you have made God change his mind about you and that promise will never be fulfilled. Numbers 23:19 tells me about a God who does not change his promises. God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?
In the midst of your doubt, I come to tell you that God is not wrong. God did not make a mistake in giving you that promise. The time of fulfillment has not yet come. 2 Peter 3: 9 says: The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. What for us is a late promise, for God is a promise on time.
God's times are perfect. The anxiety we feel because of a faith weakened by waiting is what prompts us to "give God a hand" and make mistakes. Just as Sarah made the mistake of using Hagar as the means to speed up the promise, we want to help God to “speed up” ours. Trust God in your waiting season.
I know it is difficult to wait on the promises of God that do not arrive in the time that we consider perfect. And even if your faith is weak, don't let it die. If you lose faith, you will walk away from God and you may not see the fulfillment of your promise. Weak faith is strengthened through the Spirit of God. If your faith is weak, remember that His promise is still valid and just like Sarah, your eyes will see it. A belated promise is preferable to one delivered early.
Every time you feel your faith weaken, remember this story. Today you and I are here, thanks to that promise placed on Abraham and Sarah thousands of years ago. We are evidence of that fulfillment. God's clock has not stopped, your promise is on the way.
Blessings!
