Genesis 18:9-15. 9They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” 10The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” 13The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
Do you love to laugh?We all do, don’t we. Some of us laugh very easily. Others hardly ever laugh at all.
Why do people laugh? Scientist tell us that we laugh when something unexpected happens. When someone slips and falls down it is hard not to laugh (especially if you know they are OK). We laugh at things on TV or in movies when characters do something unusual or different from what people normally do. We laugh at grandpa’s silly faces or at a friend’s joke because it is not what we usually see or hear. It’s unexpected.
In today’s scripture, Sarah laughs at God. At God? Yes, remember that one of the three visitors to Abraham and Sarah’s tent is Jesus himself. And Jesus is God, the Lord. Jesus asks, where is Sarah your wife, Abraham? Of course, Sarah was in the tent, but she was secretly listening to the conversation. Then Jesus said, I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.
And that made Sarah laugh. Why? Because it was not only unexpected but also impossible. We’ve known since Genesis 12 that Sarah cannot have babies. And now she is very old, 90 (do you know anyone who is 90). Old women cannot have babies either. So Sarah naturally laughs at what Jesus says to Abraham. Worse yet, she then lies about laughing – But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
We can’t really blame Sarah for laughing at God, can we? Everything he is saying makes no sense. Plus, this promise of having a son has taken so long to come true. And why? Why is God taking so long? Why is he waiting decades to fulfill his promise to Abraham and Sarah? Often God waits until something is so impossible, so hard, so crazy so that we know that it is something only God can do. Like Jesus said to Sarah – Is anything too hard for the Lord?
That’s a question that every single person needs to be able to answer. Do you think anything is too hard for God? Can God do anything he wants? Of course he can. And everything God wants to do is good. It is all for his glory and our good.
This is why we can always trust God. And when we feel like we can’t trust God or that God isn’t doing what he promised, we don’t have to hide from God like Sarah did, or laugh at God like she did, instead we can just be honest with God and tell him what we think.
And remember, like Sarah, you’re talking to Jesus too. The one who did the most impossible thing ever – rose from the dead to save you. That’s how we know that God is always good, because he sent his son Jesus to die on the cross for us and then come back to life so that we can trust in him and be forgiven of all our sins.
But not only are we forgiven, we are loved and cared for by God too. Just like Sarah, God wants to use us to do amazing things for him. Things that may seem too hard, but nothing is too hard for God. Even using us to do his will. God can do it because Jesus lives in our hearts. Jesus is doing it through us as we believe in his love for us.
Do you believe that God is good? That he loves you? That Jesus is the proof of God’s love for you? That even when he is waiting to do something it is because he wants us to learn to trust him with everything in our lives? These are the most important lessons you must learn growing up.
I hope you learn them so that you can laugh WITH God, instead of AT God.
You: Do you believe that God is good? That everything he does, and when he does it, is for your good?
You with Jesus: How does knowing that God is always good allow us to trust Jesus and all his promises and all his love?
Prayer: Father, your promises to me are impossible for me, but nothing is too hard for you. You can even take way all my sins and save me, something I could never do for myself. Thank you for loving me, even when I laugh at your promises. Amen.
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