Slideshow image

15 God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”

17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!”

19 Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” 22 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.

 

We have all heard the phrase, “nothing is impossible for God.” After all, God is limitless. God can do anything, right? But we also live in the real world, and we know that there are indeed limits to this human experience. It becomes hardest to have faith and trust God when that faith goes against common wisdom and human understanding.

Such was the case for Abraham. He was trying to make the best of his situation in life. He was trying to solve his own problems to the best of his ability. And who could blame him, really? I might be doing the same thing in his situation.

I think that at this point in my life, though, what God is showing me in these verses is that at any time that we still have life and breath in us, there is a very real hope for God to bring us joy. As God’s children, we are never too old, or too far gone, for a blessing beyond our wildest imagination. Every day of our lives is a new opportunity for God to reach in and bless us. Each day we have a real reason for hope.

Dear God, Help us to trust in you for our hope in each day. We praise you for your never-ending faithfulness. Amen.

Beverly Struckmann

pastorbev@livinglord.org

 

Prayer Concern: For those who feel hope is lost or are longing for children.