LIFE SCRIPTS

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?” And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” 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.
Genesis 17:17‭-‬19 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.17.17-19.NIV

Abraham was an ordinary man full of fears and doubts. Scripture says that he fell face downwards, laughed and questioned God about blessing him and his wife in their old age. He infact brought out the name of Ishmael for God to ‘reconsider’ His plan. But God remained true to His word. He stated that Sarah will bear a son who shall carry the covenant promise of God to Abraham. God is a God of impossibilities. In the midst of what technically and realistically looked impossible, God still kept His word. In the midst of what looked absurd (so absurd that it generated a sarcastic laughter) God was still in the business of accomplishing His will. Even when we have waited too long for His promise and try to plead with God to use other means (Ishmael) He’s is not a man for Him to change His plans. He will follow His word to the letter. Even if possible, He’ll defy what seems impossible for His word to stand. What He’s spoken MUST come to pass. The story of Abraham and Sarah at times looks far-fetched and hard to believe. Many times, it looks as if it was easier to wait then than it is now. But think of it, God called Abraham when he was 75 years of age. He blessed him with a child when he was over 100 years old! He waited for over 25 years for the fulfillment of God’s word. 25 long years of waiting were wearing the old man down. His belief in what God was going to accomplish was being tested. Right after the promise , he believed Him fully. That He would give him a son. Now, a quarter of a century later, his faith had been relegated to seeking God to use the son born of a bond servant, not a son of the promise to fulfill His will. But did this waning of Abraham’s faith make God change His promise to him? Not at all! God still continued building his faith. He still continued to assure him that He would give him and his wife, Sarah, a child of the promise. God’s word went beyond the expectations of man even at the point when man was on the verge of losing faith. God will still accomplish His word with or without our faith in Him. But more to that, Abraham’s level of faith was unique and monumental. He demonstrated faith where most of us cannot even dare venture. Times come when waiting even for a short time leads us to a gross lack of faith in God. Such are the times we live in. In fact, in our age, the instant age, we are so hostile to waiting, most of us cannot even wait for a day in a service centre which deals with hundreds of people. We cannot even wait patiently for our turn when boarding public service vehicles, we can’t wait long enough to brew a cup of tea or coffee and choose instead to have it instant. Inasmuch as Abraham’s faith looked waning, he demonstrated great faith to keep on believing in God even when things looked hard and difficult. A challenge to us indeed.