The Lord did for Sarah what He had promised

The Lord did for Sarah what He had promised. 

It took Him awhile. Twenty-five years, to be exact. Twenty-five years after He first promised to give Abraham and Sarah a son, Isaac was born. Twenty-five years is a long time.

Twenty-five years is long enough to give up hope. After all, even at 75, Abraham and Sarah were no spring chickens. By all human standards, the chance of this occurring grew thinner and thinner as the years ticked by and they grew older and older. 

Twenty-five years is long enough to be tempted to take things into their own hands. When nothing happened year after year, it became hard to hold on to that promise. I can just hear Abraham’s internal reasoning. Maybe I didn’t hear God right. Maybe my desire for a child colored my perception and I just thought God promised to send me a son. Or maybe he didn’t really mean Sarah would bear the son. Maybe we need to do something about this. God likes men of action, right?

Twenty-five years is long enough to make a person laugh. After 25 years, God showed up. In the guise of a small band of weary travelers, God and two angels paid a visit to Abraham. Did Abraham recognize that it was God? He certainly jumped at the chance to be hospitable, quickly serving them a meal and caring for their needs. But when the Lord told Abraham that a year from now that he and Sarah would have a son, they laughed. Not only had they given up hope in having a child, but they were so far removed from the idea that it seemed funny to them. Twenty-five years of waiting will do that to you I suppose.

As they waited, Sarah didn’t seem bitter. They didn’t seem to resent that so far, it looked like God had not kept His promise. Perhaps they simply just gave up on the idea. After all, they were too old now. How would Sarah survive a pregnancy? How would they, elderly as they were, care for an infant, an active toddler, a rambunctious child? It must have seemed easier to just let the idea go. Easier physically. Easier emotionally. Just easier. When God’s promise didn’t appear and no longer made sense, they didn’t turn their backs on God. That was good. However, they didn’t continue to hold out for the promise either.

How often do I do that? How often do I let go of the promises God has made me? I don’t blame God. I don’t get angry when it looks like His promises aren’t showing up. I just stop anticipating. I drop the faith that God will come through in awesome ways. Like a child who thinks they didn’t get the bike they were promised for Christmas that year, I patronize Him. “It’s okay Dad. You just couldn’t do it this time. I understand. Bikes are hard. They’re expensive. I don’t really need a bike. Maybe that’s not even what I wanted anyway. Bikes are dirty. They can be hard to ride – I might fall down and get hurt. Yeah, it would have been really cool, but that’s okay. I still love you.” All the while, Dad’s got the bike hidden in the garage just waiting for the great reveal at the perfect time. 

Was that Sarah? “It’s okay God. I really wanted a son, but, you know, that’s a big undertaking. Sarah and I are old now. I mean, I don’t know. So you just couldn’t pull it off this time. That’s okay. Kids are a lot of work. I get it. They’re loud and messy and needy. So maybe we didn’t really want a son after all. That’s okay God. I still love you.” All the while, God was just waiting for the perfect time for the great reveal.

What must it have felt like to God to have His Sarah stop waiting and anticipating the promise? He knew they were human and that they were limited in their understanding of his power. But still, I imagine that it stung a little. Hang in there just a little longer. Don’t give up hope! You so underestimate what I can do and how much I love you. You’ll miss the best part if you drop out now!

God wasn’t done yet. Not by a long shot. He came through at what must have seemed like the eleventh hour. He showed up just in time for it to be utterly, blatantly obvious that Isaac only existed because of His hand. In all the world until the end of time, all of humanity can rest assured that God sent Isaac to Abraham and Sarah. God kept His promise. God started the whole Jewish race. Only God.

I don’t want to patronize God. I don’t want, in my mind, to limit what I think He can or will do. His promises are worth waiting for.

And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. 2 Peter 1:4

 

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29

He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:29-31

No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. I Corinthians 10:13

Marked

"His presence leaves no one unmarked." Life Unhindered, Jennifer Kennedy Dean

This book has been changing my life. Bit by bit my old, long-held patterns of thinking and behavior are being challenged and broken down with the truth of God's Word. God is rebuilding me in new ways, and as I read the phrase above from chapter 11, it happened again.

"His presence leaves no one unmarked."

No one.

That means me. That means you. God's presence leaves a mark.

How will I come away marked?

He won't force it on me. He's not coming after me like some Sharpie-crazed toddler with a vendetta. He will write on the surface available in my life. What surface am I leaving open for Him?

A chalkboard? They're all the trend right now, with their dark, flat surface and temporary scribbled messages. Powdery chalk dust smudges the author's fingers but is quickly clapped away. So is the message - easily erased, either purposefully or accidentally. This message won't endure. It changes often to reflect whatever message is loudest, most popular or most urgent at the time. The marks fade quickly, leaving only the faintest of smudged lines, then nothing at all. Nothing at all.

Or metal? At first, metal seems cold and hard, impersonal. Who wants to expose the cold, hard parts of themselves to God? To anyone? Will I allow God's presence to be engraved permanently into my life? Even if it means He uses a sharp stylus? Deep lines and grooves that are unremovable by time or the elements could decorate the surface of who I am. Marks that can't be rubbed out, washed off or glazed over. Indelible. Undeniable. Forever marking my life - truth seared across the fabric of my being, engraved deep for all to see.

Here's the thing - metal is reflective. It bounces back light. A chalkboard, on the other hand, with its black, flat surface simply absorbs the light.

I want to reflect the Light. And when I do, I want the Light to reveal to the world the marks He has left on me. It will hurt. It will be hard. But He didn't hold back the hurt and the hard to love me. He didn't stand at the foot of the cross with a chalkboard sign. No. He got up on that cross and let His love be engraved across His very body. Marked. For me. Forever. And someday, when I see Him face to face, I will see the marks on His hands and His side. And I want to be able to turn to Him with a blinding smile that matches His, knowing that I reflected Him to the world.