Sometimes it is difficult even for those who walk with God to accept that He may intervene in their lives and deliver something incredible… something very personal they could never expect outside of His direct intervention.
In Genesis 18:1-15 we see God promising a baby to Sarah, who is old and well past child bearing years by normal standards. Sarah struggles to believe it and even laughs.
18 The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day. 2 He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground.
3 “My lord,” he said, “if it pleases you, stop here for a while. 4 Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet. 5 And since you’ve honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey.”
“All right,” they said. “Do as you have said.”
6 So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, “Hurry! Get three large measures[a] of your best flour, knead it into dough, and bake some bread.” 7 Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant, who quickly prepared it. 8 When the food was ready, Abraham took some yogurt and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them in the shade of the trees.
9 “Where is Sarah, your wife?” the visitors asked.
“She’s inside the tent,” Abraham replied.
10 Then one of them said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!”
Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent. 11 Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children. 12 So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?”
13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
15 Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh.”
But the Lord said, “No, you did laugh.”
Though we do not read it in this scripture verse, God indeed fulfills the promise. How gracious of God to continue with the promise despite Sarah’s laughter and unbelief. Despite even her lie to deny she had mocked the promise. God was going to keep His promise to Abraham.
Do you believe He can and may intervene directly in your life? Have you witnessed God doing incredible things before? When He delivers something you never expected was possible, do you glorify Him and praise Him, telling others? or do you keep it to yourself and eventually reason why it really may not have been God involved after all?
A good idea to consider… when God clearly moves in your life or in another way around you, write it down in a journal. Keep a record of God’s involvement in your life for encouragement and reminder that our gracious creator can and does intervene in the lives of His people.
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