“Then the Lord said, I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son” - Gen 18:10 (NIV)
When the Lord spoke these words to Abraham who in his late nineties was still childless, Sarah, his wife, who happened to be nearby, heard so, and she doubted. “So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” (Gen 18:12).
Sarah’s doubts can relate with any of us who could be faced with a situation that is long overdue and we believe time is not on our side. This could range anywhere from the proverbial proposal, getting to a certain place, raising a house, receiving a certain windfall. Everyone knows that matter, where we believe time is not on our side.
For Sarah she was well aware of her biological limitations to bear a child at that advanced age.
From a human and physical aspect child bearing was purely impossible to imagine so at her advanced age. Yet Sarah’s problem was that she was looking at issues from a purely physical angle.
When we look at things with our naked eyes and from our understanding a lot does not make sense. Consider the universe and the whole of creation. The existence of life is beyond human capacity to comprehend. However, when we pause and look at matters from a spiritual angle it is all possible. As Jesus once said, “What is impossible with men is possible with God” (Luke 18:27).
In the above situation someone else would have the last laugh. At ninety, “Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham, in his old age, at the very time he had promised him” (Genesis 21:1-2).
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, today I pray in the mighty name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, to hold on to the promises you have given me for you never fail!
Related upcoming events
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06/05/2024 - 07/05/2024 All day“Do not confirm to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2)
Almost all cultivators are aware that if soils are used perpetually without rains but constantly under work they are deprived of all nutrients. So, though once productive, they lose all power to yield fresh crops as before. But so is our Christian life when we do not regularly feed our spirit life with the Word!
In our leading verse, the Apostle Paul is urging believers to “renew” their minds rather than make them stale, lest they end up losing all power to yield fruit. But how is this done? We renew our minds by constantly reading the Word of God, for there are always insights with God speaking to us afresh. Psalm 119:104-5 says, “I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” The Apostle Peter reminds us, “Like newborn babies hungry for milk, you should want the pure teaching that feeds your spirit. With it you can grow and be saved.” It is a beautiful illustration for any who have seen a hungry baby sucking the teats of a mother.
Renewing our minds is also by reading about the lives of people of faith who have walked before us and their created works. The Christian faith started in the first century after Jesus was crucified and resurrected from the dead. Now over two millenniums it has produced giants of faith who have shared their walk with God through inspired teachings that are a treasure to dig into. By scouring the writings of the great saints before us, listening to their recorded sermons, songs and preaching, which these days can be found on virtual medial channels like Yu tube, reading their biographies, our faith is renewed.
And then we also renew our faith through fellowship. When the Apostle Paul urges us, “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” ( Hebrews 10:25), he is reminding us that our faith cannot grow in isolation. During the Covid pandemic lockdown one bitter issue was denying Believers opportunity to meet fellow followers of Christ to share testimonies showing the work of God in their lives.
So today, if your faith is on a low keel, or you want it to flower, one thing you can’t help doing without is “renewing” your mind. The blessings to unfold are endless.
Prayer for today:Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, what a treasure we have of your rich Word to dig into always; books around us of faith to inspire us; and believers to share our faith- may we make use of these, this I pray in Jesus’ name.
