And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’ “Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid.
And He said, “No, but you did laugh.” (Gen.18:13-15)
What expression do you imagine was on the Lord’s face when He said, “No, but you did laugh” to Sarah.
Was He scowling or smiling? Was He rebuking her, or affectionately setting her up to receive a miracle and a revelation of His great love? The way we answer this question will reveal much about our own personal relationship with our Heavenly Father.
I think the tender interaction between God and Sarah in this story is tremendous. I see a Father who understood the disappointments and the dreams of His beloved daughter. HE took the issue which was most painful to her (her barren womb) and filled it with a blessing that would reveal His love and power throughout the generations. There is a divine connection between Sarah’s laugh of disbelief, and God’s gift of laughter to her.
You see, long before Sarah laughed in disbelief and then tried to deny it because she was afraid, God had promised to fill her barren womb with laughter. Laughter was in God’s plan for Sarah from the beginning. The Lord had already told Abraham what to name Sarah’s son of promise, who had not yet been conceived.
God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac;” (Gen.17:19) Isaac means laughter.
To be fair to Abraham and Sarah, we must remember that they had first been promised offspring about twenty-four years earlier. That is a long time to wait for something.
Recently a dear friend, David Harwood, posed a question to me in a devotional he had written about Sarah’s laughter.
“Have you ever received a promise that you believe was from God, but now, if it is
mentioned, the very sound of it brings pain? If the LORD, Himself, was to draw near
to you and restate His purpose, would you bitterly laugh? Would you mock? Have
you done that?”
How many of us have become so discouraged during the long wait between the promise and the fulfillment that we have been tempted to laugh when reminded of that which we once hoped for and say, “Yeah! Right! Like that’s ever really going to happen.”
Just like Sarah we may try to keep up appearances by saying publicly that we have not laughed, but deep in our hearts hope is almost gone. At this point, just like Abraham and Sarah, we will often try to fulfill what God has promised in our own strength. This always results in having to cry out to God because we have made a mess of things. It should be crystal clear that taking things into our own hands is not a good strategy since the whole world still suffers from the ongoing conflicts between Ishmael and Isaac.
How many of us have been brought to the point when we find it almost impossible to keep on believing what we had once hoped would be our destiny? Being brought to a personal crisis of faith is an unavoidable part of the process. If we have not been pressed to the end of ourselves, even to the end of our own ability to believe, we may not have yet heard His Word for us. His promise is always beyond the realm of our ability.
One of the things I am beginning to see after many years in the pursuit of God’s purposes is that quite often the biggest promises also require the longest waiting periods. To be able to stand faithfully in the day of fulfillment requires being transformed in our innermost being by the fires we must pass through during our journey. Not only do the promises of God have far reaching consequences, but the development of our character while we are on the quest for them may actually be of even greater eternal value.
Romans 8:28-29 speaks of the purpose of God’s refining process in our lives. “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.”
The ultimate promise for me in scripture is that I will someday be conformed to the likeness of Jesus. All of God’s promises are intended to draw me into the depth of intimacy that the Father and the Son have and that I will be transformed in the process. Jesus prayed for us saying. “That they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”
Have I wanted to shorten the time between the promise and the fulfillment? Yes, I have. Is it better that I trust God’s timing and let the process of waiting on the promises of God, change me instead? Absolutely!
May everyone who hears of the fulfillment of God’s promises in our lives join together with us to laugh and rejoice that His power is at work in and through us for His Glory.
Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Sarah said,
“God has made laughter for me;
everyone who hears will laugh with me.”
