Laughing at God

I know, it's an incredible statement to make. After all, who would possibly laugh at God? Answer: Abraham, Sarah, and Keith...

Gen. 17:17, "Then Abraham, fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, "shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" Then Abraham offered God an alternative plan.

Gen. 18:11-12, "Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself saying, "After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?"

But here is the key verse:
Gen. 18:13-14, "The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too hard for the LORD? ..."

There it is. Is anything too hard for the LORD? Of course we know the answer, but it's still a good question. I would never stand in the pulpit and say that anything is too hard for the Lord. I would never admit to having laughed at God. But let's be honest, there are times when I think in my heart, "This is too hard even for God." There are times when I've laughed to myself and thought, "There's no way this can happen. What a joke!"

Abraham and Sarah had every earthly reason to laugh. Abraham was 100. Sarah was 90. She was way past the "way of women." Menopause was already a distant memory for her.

If you have done the math in your reading you also realize that Abraham had received the initial promise from God about an heir when he was 75 years old. He was now 100 years old and still had no natural child with Sarah. That's 25 years. He had waited for 25 years and I would guess his belief in that promise had started to fade a bit. He and Sarah had both schemed ways they could help God out, but God did not want or need their help.

Now I have to admit that I don't think I've waited for 25 years on anything. In case you didn't notice this little detail, in Gen. 18 under the trees of Mamre when the Lord visits Abraham, Abraham is still living in a tent! Good grief that's a long time in a tent, and that's a long time to wait on a child who it seems will never come.

As I shared last Sunday morning, I began my own journey of faith in ministry in 1998. That's only 13 years, and there are times when I grow impatient with God. There are times when I have wanted to give up and just go back to something over which I felt more personal control. I have whined and cried and worried and said I'm sorry more times in the last 8 years since beginning as a pastor than I had in the 38 years previously.

Now God wants me to step out on faith and do things at Live Oak Baptist that have never been done in the 145 year history; and, I'm sure God is only beginning. But, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" No way.

I see 200 people worshiping at Live Oak in this community. I see us partnering with other churches multi-culturally to reach our diverse population. I see us doing missions in our community, our country, and around the world. I see lives being changed both in the congregation and outside the congregation. That is the dream God has always burned in my heart, and I am ready to see it come to pass. My heart-beat is not about "bigger is better;" it is about changed lives for the glory of our great God and Savior. That's worth investing my life in. That's worth investing your life in.

Is anything too hard for God? What do you believe?