Genesis 18:1, 10-14 – Is Anything Too Hard For The Lord?

Genesis 18:1, 10-14
1 And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
13 And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
14 Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

We are told previously in scripture that Sarah was barren even in her youth (Genesis 11:30).  She is now past the point when even a normal woman would be able to conceive a child and yet the Lord promises that at nearly 100 years old, she will do exactly that.  The sheer size of the Lord’s promise leads her to question it; “If I couldn’t have a child all of these years, how am I supposed to have one now that I’m old?”  The Lord reminded Abraham and Sarah that there is really only one question we should ever ask, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”  Focusing on our circumstances will inevitably lead to doubt because our circumstances can get very big.  But if we focus on God instead, we will be able to see how much bigger He is and that “with [Him] all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

Ecclesiastes 7:21-22 – Forgetting Hurtful Words

Ecclesiastes 7:21-22
21 Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:
22 For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.
 
What Solomon is saying here is simple; inevitably we will all be guilty of saying hurtful things that are better off unheard.  Even the people that we think would never hurt us will ultimately fail in this regard.  Although difficult, it is better to forgive and forget what is (in most cases) simply an emotional outburst.  To add greater emphasis to this idea, the Holy Spirit is here to remind us that even we ourselves are just as guilty of saying things we shouldn’t have said.

1 Kings 19:18 – Which Have Not Bowed

1 Kings 19:18
18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

The Lord here tells Elijah that He has preserved for Himself a remnant.  Notice who this remnant consists of: those who have not followed another god.  There are days of great spiritual victory; days where we preach a powerful sermon, or lead a sinner to Christ, or win a great victory over our flesh.  But there are other days where we cannot lay claim to such victory, days where it can only be said that we didn’t bow down to the powers of darkness or go along with the world.  Take heart when those days come; it may not feel like you did much, but the Lord is always pleased with those who simply said “no” to another way.

John 9:5-11 – …and I received sight.

John 9:5-11
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
7 And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
8 The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?
9 Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he.
10 Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened?
11 He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.
 
The people had a great question for the man who once was blind; how is it that you came to see?  The man could have attempted to explain the healing properties of the mud once it had been touched by the hand of God or He could have talked about God’s omnipotence and how simple it would be for Him to heal what He had originally created.  Instead, he takes a far simpler and far more profound route by telling everyone who asks that he met a man named Jesus and he was healed when he did what Jesus told him to do.  Being a witness can be the most overwhelming, most terrifying thing for any of us and I think the reason is that we overcomplicate it.  We attempt to explain and convince people on biblical matters when the whole time we should be telling people what the Lord has done for us.  People can look at things in creation like the stars and see proof of how big God is, but if you let people take a look at your broken life that God has fixed, they’ll see proof of how good God is.

Psalm 40:5 – Many Wonderful Works and Thoughts

Psalm 34:19
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
 
Psalm 40:5
5 Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
 
The Bible is not shy when it comes to the difficulties that we must all surely face in this life.  What is important to remember is that no matter how many afflictions we face, the Lord has even more wonderful works to offer on our behalf.  If we were to take time and really think back, we may be able to recount every experience that we considered “bad”, but how could we ever count all the good things the Lord has done for us.  What a great God; not only will he deliver us from affliction, but he comes to us with pleasant thoughts and wonderful works.

Proverbs 22:26-27 – Credits and Debts

Proverbs 22:26-27
26 Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts.
27 If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?

The desire to have more and more drives people to do crazy things.  The advent of credit cards and other such means makes it easier than ever to dig a hole of debt from which many never recover.  Having to constantly stay one step ahead of payments is a source of great frustration and leaves no extra income to cover when the unexpected happens (and the unexpected will happen).  At the same time, credit is a tool that can be used to hold things together when life gets unsettled, but such decisions should be made very carefully.  Notice how verse 27 is worded as a question.  It’s not necessarily condemning such actions, but rather inviting us to consider why we would undertake such actions.  If you can’t afford to buy something, why put yourself in a position where you may lose everything else you have, down to the place where you sleep?  Is it because you are in a crisis and need help getting back on your feet or because greed is leading you to live beyond your means?

2 Corinthians 4:5-7 – Treasure and Earthen Vessels

2 Corinthians 4:5-7
5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.
6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
 
Every so often I look back at some of my writings after I have posted them and routinely notice typos and misspellings.  It occurs to me how amazing it is that God would entrust something as glorious as His Word to a human being like me.  I can’t even write a sentence without a keystroke error or a misspelling.  It could be depressing if God didn’t tell us why He does things this way.  Simply put, if the messengers were perfect, the message may get lost or diluted, but an imperfect messenger makes God’s message all the more impressive when it opens hearts and minds.  So here is the lesson to all those who make mistakes while delivering the Word of God: Focus on being an earthen vessel eager to be used by God.  The Lord will provide the treasure.

Romans 8:34 – No Condemnation

Romans 8:34
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
 
Jesus Christ paid with blood for the right to judge the whole Earth.  Instead of using that authority to condemn us all, He instead pleads on our behalf so that we can be absolved of our sins.  Romans 8:1 tells us, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”  There can be no condemnation for those that are saved because who else could condemn us but Christ?  If others try, Christ will silence them with His own authority.  “For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them”  (Luke 9:56).

Hebrews 12:1-2 – Lay Aside Every Weight and Sin

Hebrews 12:1-2
1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Paul tells us to lay aside weights and sins so that we might be able to run properly.  That instruction sets a high standard, but Jesus has already given us a higher standard.  “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me”  (Matthew 16:24). There is no way we can follow Jesus’ instruction and pick up our cross if we haven’t first laid aside every weight, every sin, every care, and everything else about us that is not of God.  We cannot expect to hold those things in one hand and the cross in the other, for we would surely collapse under the weight.  How can we hope to let go of all these things?  Paul tells us how in verse 2, by “looking unto Jesus“, who laid aside everything, including His divine glory, that he might carry His cross all the way to victory.  

Zechariah 13:6 – The House of My Friends

Zechariah 13:6
6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
 
There is a great day approaching when every knee will bow to Jesus and every tongue will confess that He is Lord (Philippians 2:10). Somewhere around that same time the Jewish nation, God’s covenant people, will look on Jesus and truly recognize Him for the first time.  Part of that recognition will be seeing the marks of the cross that Jesus carries. What a terrible realization to make; that the man you sentenced to death really was God all along.  Surely this meeting could only end with Jesus seeking retribution by destroying the Jews.  But, notice the Lord’s response in verse 6: “the house of My friends.”  Some may argue that Jesus is being ironic or even sarcastic, but that’s not the case.  Turning on your God may be an unlovable act, but Jesus died on the cross because God was determined to love the unlovable and that sentiment is manifested in these words.  The truth is that the Jews are guilty and in need of judgment.  But the Gentiles are just as guilty and in need of judgment. “For God hath concluded [us] all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.”  (Romans 11:32)