Living Room Study

Genesis 21

“The Lord came 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 appointed time God had told him.  Abraham named his son who was born to him – the one Sarah bore to him -  Isaac.  When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him.  Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him.  Sarah said, ‘God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears will laugh with me.’  She also said, ‘Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children?  Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.’”  Genesis 21:1-7

God fulfills His covenant promises.  That is the theme of today’s chapter.  Whether His promises are to His people (Abraham & Sarah) or to the Goyim (Gentiles like Hagar and Ishmael), God is faithful to His Word.  We learn faithfulness by experiencing His faithfulness…often through trials, which can only be endured by God’s intervention.

In my life, it have faced difficulty and cried out to God.  In my desperation, I wanted to hear God say, “I’ll take care of it immediately!”  Most often, though, I have heard the retort, “Trust Me.”  Then, silence…for what seemed like an eternity.  The heat would grow, and I’d be an emotional wreck.  Still, the echo, “Trust Me.”  I would struggle and groan, cry and wail, but eventually God would make good on His promise.

After all these years as a believer, I have only just begun to learn to patiently wait on the Lord.  I have only begun to take him at His Word, even though I don’t understand His timing.  I am learning to trust Him, to distinguish His voice from that of the “Impersonator”.

As a child I remember the great impersonator, “Rich Little” on the TV variety shows.  I recall closing my eyes and thinking, “He sounds exactly like…(insert celebrity)”.  But even then, there were subtleties in the voices of those people Mr. Little impersonated, subtleties which could be clearly distinguished by those close to the celebrity being impersonated.  Are you that close to God and His Word, that you can distinguish His voice among the impersonations?  Apparently, Sarah knew the Lord’s voice when she heard it, because upon hearing it, she faithfully waited for the Lord to fulfill His promise. 

“By faith, even Sarah herself, when she was barren, received power to conceive offspring, even though she was past her age, since she considered that the One who had promised was faithful.  And therefore, from one man – in fact, from one as good as dead – came offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as innumerable as the grains of sand by the seashore.”  Hebrews 11:11-12

Who knows how much faith Sarah had when she first trusted the Lord?  I am certain that her faith ballooned when the Lord delivered on His Word!  Let’s take today’s chapter as a challenge to seek God’s Word and rely on it.  That way, we can rest in His promises and rejoice at their fulfillment.

Blessings.

Steve Wiggins