The Gift of Faith: Laughter

Christ works in the barren places.  He brings life to places that only knew death.  He brings life where it never has been before.  Sarah had been unable to bear a child.  New life had not been created in her womb.

These passages speak over and over again of what their faith did.  If we misunderstand faith, we will miss the work of God in the lives of these people.  If we misunderstand that faith is a gift, we miss God at work.  Our faith from him is a gift.  It is not something we have to work at.  It’s not something we have to make grow.  God’s work created our faith.  God’s work sustains our faith.  God’s work makes our faith grow.  We have as much ability to make our faith grow as a barren woman has the ability to make a child grow in her womb.

Sarah and her husband Abraham illustrate with their lives that their faith and the good things that came about were acts of God.

Sarah’s dreams of having a child had died.

“The Lord said “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.”  And Sarah was listening at the door behind him.  Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years.  They way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.  So Sarah laughed to herself, saying “After I am worn our, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?”  The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?” 

Is anything too hard for the Lord?  At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time, next year, and Sarah shall have a son.”  But Sarah denied it saying I did not laugh, for she was afraid, “No but you did laugh.”

Hebrews tells us

“By Faith Sarah herself received power to conceive even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.”

Sarah did not muster up some ability to conceive.  She did not say all the right prayers, rub all the right oils, eat all the right things or stand on her head after intercourse.  Just like the rest of us there was nothing she could do to help her barren womb.  God ensured we and Sarah and Abraham could see it was him at work and not ‘nature’ or the facts of life.  He created life in her womb when she was well past the age of childbearing after years of not having a child.

Sarah didn’t muster up any faith either.  When she was told she would conceive she laughed at the plan set before her.  Who wouldn’t?

Has that ever happened in your life.  You ‘hear’ or see a plan for your life that makes you laugh out loud.

Or similarly if you want to hear God laugh tell him your plans. It’s not a malicious chuckle. It’s the same chuckle a father gives when a child gives seamless plans on how he is going to do life.

God is in the business of creating new life. 

He created life at creation. 

He created life in barren wombs. 

He created life in the womb of a virgin. 

He created your life too.