Waiting On A Miracle

Sarah’s story began with excitement, adventure, and an incredible promise from God Himself. One day she would bear a child (Genesis 15:4-5) A child that would bring joy to her and her husband and be the first of the many descendants to come.

Her future was full of so much hope.

She married Abraham, a man who feared God and adored her. A man who was not afraid to follow God into the unknown. A man who attained much wealth because he worked hard and was obedient to God. And God promised them that their time to bear a child would come.

So Sarah believed.

She believed when she was newly married and full of energy. Oh what joy a baby would bring her.

But she did not have a child.

She believed when she was 40, even when other women around her had long started bearing children, she had faith that it wasn’t too late, God’s Promise would be fulfilled. Her time would come.

But she did not have a child.

And the older she got, the grayer her hair turned, the frailer her body became… Sarah began to wonder, did Abraham really hear God correctly? Maybe that promise was not meant for her after all.

But one day God’s angels paid her and Abraham a surprise visit. And while preparing bread for her guests Sarah overheard an angel say “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”  (Genesis 18:10-14)

Sarah laughed silently to herself.

I don’t blame her at all.

If the angel said this when she was 20 it would have been believable. If he said it when she was 30 it would have made sense. If he said it when she was 50 she would have been surprised, but happy. But she was 90 now. She was long past the age of having children. Her friends had great-grandchildren by now. And yet she remained childless.

Her dream of holding a baby in her arms were long gone. The thought of having a child at her age seemed absurd, unbelievable, and completely impossible.

Before the angels left they asked a question that probably made her stop and think twice about her doubt, “Is anything too hard for God?”

I think it’s a question that God wants to ask you and I today: is anything too hard for Him to do in your life?

The angels told Sarah “at this time next year you will have a son.” And it made her laugh to herself at the mere thought of it.

What would you “laugh” to yourself about today at the complete absurdity of it coming true in your life?

What have you been waiting for year after year with no answer from God?

If someone came up to you and said “at this time next year you will be… debt free, completely healed, reunited with a loved one, working at a good stable job, married, holding a baby in your arms…” Would those words bring you laughter like it did to Sarah? Laugher of doubt, maybe confusion, or just complete hilarity at the idea that this statement will come to pass in your life?

Maybe you’ve been rejected for a job position for the past 6 months. After sending in hundreds of applications. Going to dozens of interviews that resulted in nothing. How could a job opportunity come your way?

Maybe you’ve been trying to start a family for years and you’ve tried every fertility treatment recommended by your doctor and yet barren you still remain.

Maybe you’ve applied for that college program you’ve wanted to get into from the time you were a child and all you’ve been receiving is rejection letters.

Maybe you’ve prayed, fasted, and sought out professional medical help for healing for years and yet you are still battling the same sickness and disease that threatens to take your life.

Your situation may be different. But the end result is the same: doubt about God’s Will and plan.

Today, you might be standing in the very shoes of Sarah. Feeling completely forgotten by God. Your faith faltering and your hope for His answer to come long gone.

Maybe you’ve settled for living life without the answer to what you have been praying for.

But I want to remind you today that even when Sarah was old and way past the age of having a child, God had not forgotten her. It was not too late for a miracle and an answered prayer. Isaac was on his way.

And it’s not too late for you either.

Even if you have no logical reason to believe. Even when the odds are completely against you.

Sarah was way past the time in her life to have children. Her doctor would have said it was too late for her to have a child in her old age. Her friends would have said it was too late for her. She herself would have said it was too late for her.

But here’s the thing we tend to forget: God doesn’t work by our schedule and plans. What’s too late and too impossible for us is not for Him. It would take a miracle of God for her to bear a child in her old age, and that’s exactly what happened: a miracle.

Sometimes I wonder if God waits so long to answer our prayers so that we would be in the perfect position for a miracle to happen.

I wonder if He waits to see if we will still trust Him to be faithful when at the moment everything is pointing to Him failing us and forgetting us.

Maybe you’re in that place today.

I’m not sure what miracle you are waiting for.

I don’t know what prayers you have that remain unanswered one long year after another.

I don’t know what situation seems too hopeless to change.

What I do know is this: We serve an amazing Almighty God.

We serve a God who loves to make impossible things happen.

We serve a God who loves to surprise us with answers to prayers we thought had no chance of coming to pass.

Today I want to remind you that it doesn’t matter what the doctors report says, what society says, what your friends say, and what your timeline says.

God has the final say in your life. And with Him, it’s never too late. God shows up, not always right away, but always right on time.  No matter how long you’ve waited and how doubtful circumstances look God will keep His promise to you.  Sarah would certainly attest to that.

A year later, just like the angels said- Sarah was holding baby Isaac in her arms and this time she said “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” –Genesis 21:6.

God turned Sarah’s laughter of disbelief into laughter of joy at the fulfillment of His promise and the miracle in her arms.

He wants to change your laughter of disbelief into joy too. He wants to prove to you that nothing is impossible for Him. That no situation is too hopeless and that it’s never too late for a miracle.

 “Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham and Sarah kept hoping… they were fully convinced that God is able to do whatever He promises.” –Hebrews 11:11

Today, lets learn from Abraham and Sarah.

Let’s keep on hoping. In the hardships, in the questions, in the waiting, in the uncertainty, in the darkness, in the doubt. Let’s believe that God can perform a miracle in our life.

He made the impossible happen for Sarah, He can make it happen for you too.

Love you all and praying for God to bring a miracle into your life this year! -Anna… ♥