“The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child when I am old?’ Is anything impossible for the LORD? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.”” (Genesis 18:13–14, NET 2nd ed.)
The scripture above contains a conversation between Abraham and the Lord. In it, the Lord challenges the thinking of Sarah, who laughed when she heard that she would bear a son for Abraham (Genesis 18:13). Sarah laughed, because the idea seemed absurd. Sarah was 90 years old (Genesis 17:17)!!!! Abraham probably thought he too was no longer able to bear children. Both were obviously shocked when the Lord promised Abraham a son.
To reiterate the promise God made, God told Abraham in Genesis 18:14, “Is anything impossible for the Lord?” To add punch to the promise that was made, God informed Abraham that “when the season comes around again (a year)… Sarah will have a son”. The book of Genesis does indeed indicate that everything proceeded according to God’s plan. Sarah, who believed herself unable to get pregnant, who no longer had her period (Genesis 18:11), gave birth to a son of Abraham! God’s promise made was a promise kept.
Billy Graham once commented on this very scripture. He wrote:
“Can you blame Abraham and Sarah for doubting God’s promise that within a year she would bear a son? Sarah had been childless all their married life, and now she was approaching the age of ninety. Could anything be more impossible? Humanly speaking, they were right; ninety-year-old women simply do not bear children. But God gently reminded them that He was sovereign, and nothing was too hard for Him. And the following year the impossible happened: Isaac was born. God’s promise to Abraham that he would become the father of a great nation (and the ancestor of Jesus Christ) could now be fulfilled.” (p. 360, Wisdom for Each Day).
As we go through the stages of life, we get used to what is normal, what is expected, what is commonplace. We expect young women to have children, not ninety-year-old women! We expect young men to desire a son and heir, not a ninety-year-old man named Abraham! So often, we are lulled into thinking we know exactly how life on this earth works. We forget that God is the Creator and capable of “the impossible” (Genesis 18:14). When God makes a promise, even if it seems impossible, God keeps it!
Maybe one problem people have with this scripture involves the keeping of promises. Too often in life, people break promises. A woman promises to pray for a sick boy but is so busy she forgets. A man promises to be home early from work for a wedding anniversary only to stay late for an unscheduled meeting. This brought great tears to his young wife. A child promises not to flunk a class but seems to care more about time with his friends than studying. He then flunks the class a few months later. Many people make promises without intending to keep them. Many others make promises only to give them up when presented with other options. Why is it that people are so poor at keeping promises?
I was almost asleep one night when an old western came on the TV. A cowboy seat on his horse turned to another cowboy on his own horse and said, “A man’s word is his bond! That man done sold his saddle!” When a cowboy said someone “sold his saddle”, it means he disgraced himself, broke promises, failed to come through. In the wild west, promises were critical to life. If you made a promise, good men were expected to keep them. Sadly, in modern times, a man’s word is no longer his bond. Many “sell their saddle” when they break promises made to others or made to God.
In Matthew 16:24, Jesus explained that to be a follower, a man “must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” In essence, Jesus was claiming that followers must emulate Him. That also includes promises. Jesus made promises and kept them. When Jesus said a sin was forgiven, it was forgiven. When Jesus promised to cast out a demon, He did. When Jesus told His disciples that He would arise from the dead on the third day, it happened. Promises made were promises kept.
If you want to be a follower of Jesus, plan to keep your promises. If the Lord means anything to you, you better be an honorable man and not a man who “sold his saddle”. Are you good at making and keeping promises? Do you trust the promises Jesus made about forgiveness, grace, and eternal life? Let’s be clear: God keeps His promises no matter what. Do you keep yours?
To reiterate the promise God made, God told Abraham in Genesis 18:14, “Is anything impossible for the Lord?” To add punch to the promise that was made, God informed Abraham that “when the season comes around again (a year)… Sarah will have a son”. The book of Genesis does indeed indicate that everything proceeded according to God’s plan. Sarah, who believed herself unable to get pregnant, who no longer had her period (Genesis 18:11), gave birth to a son of Abraham! God’s promise made was a promise kept.
Billy Graham once commented on this very scripture. He wrote:
“Can you blame Abraham and Sarah for doubting God’s promise that within a year she would bear a son? Sarah had been childless all their married life, and now she was approaching the age of ninety. Could anything be more impossible? Humanly speaking, they were right; ninety-year-old women simply do not bear children. But God gently reminded them that He was sovereign, and nothing was too hard for Him. And the following year the impossible happened: Isaac was born. God’s promise to Abraham that he would become the father of a great nation (and the ancestor of Jesus Christ) could now be fulfilled.” (p. 360, Wisdom for Each Day).
As we go through the stages of life, we get used to what is normal, what is expected, what is commonplace. We expect young women to have children, not ninety-year-old women! We expect young men to desire a son and heir, not a ninety-year-old man named Abraham! So often, we are lulled into thinking we know exactly how life on this earth works. We forget that God is the Creator and capable of “the impossible” (Genesis 18:14). When God makes a promise, even if it seems impossible, God keeps it!
Maybe one problem people have with this scripture involves the keeping of promises. Too often in life, people break promises. A woman promises to pray for a sick boy but is so busy she forgets. A man promises to be home early from work for a wedding anniversary only to stay late for an unscheduled meeting. This brought great tears to his young wife. A child promises not to flunk a class but seems to care more about time with his friends than studying. He then flunks the class a few months later. Many people make promises without intending to keep them. Many others make promises only to give them up when presented with other options. Why is it that people are so poor at keeping promises?
I was almost asleep one night when an old western came on the TV. A cowboy seat on his horse turned to another cowboy on his own horse and said, “A man’s word is his bond! That man done sold his saddle!” When a cowboy said someone “sold his saddle”, it means he disgraced himself, broke promises, failed to come through. In the wild west, promises were critical to life. If you made a promise, good men were expected to keep them. Sadly, in modern times, a man’s word is no longer his bond. Many “sell their saddle” when they break promises made to others or made to God.
In Matthew 16:24, Jesus explained that to be a follower, a man “must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” In essence, Jesus was claiming that followers must emulate Him. That also includes promises. Jesus made promises and kept them. When Jesus said a sin was forgiven, it was forgiven. When Jesus promised to cast out a demon, He did. When Jesus told His disciples that He would arise from the dead on the third day, it happened. Promises made were promises kept.
If you want to be a follower of Jesus, plan to keep your promises. If the Lord means anything to you, you better be an honorable man and not a man who “sold his saddle”. Are you good at making and keeping promises? Do you trust the promises Jesus made about forgiveness, grace, and eternal life? Let’s be clear: God keeps His promises no matter what. Do you keep yours?