Genesis 18:9-15 – “Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?”  So he said, “Here, in the tent.” 10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.”  (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.   12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”

13 And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”    NKJV

I wonder how often we have done what Sarah did?  Maybe not outwardly but through our actions, doubt and disbelief we laughed at the prospect of the promise!  Abraham and Sarah were not Spring Chickens and time had passed them by and Sarah’s reaction should not be viewed as anything but normal.  She had been barren for a long time and now they were in the twilight years of life.  She heard the promise and I am convinced wanted the promise to be true but when she looked in the mirror reality hit her squarely in the face.  SHE WAS OLD and so was Abraham.

Abraham had a life of demonstrated obedience and Sarah willingly followed him wherever he believed they were to go and into whatever venture he deemed advisable.  The Promise of God to make Abraham a Great Nation and to have heirs as numerous as the sand on the seashore or the stars in the heavens prompted her to urge him to make a tragic error with Hagar producing Ishmael.  NOW, she hears that she is going to have a child and her natural response was to laugh.

I am convinced that we have laughed at some of God’s promises either by actually snickering or through our demonstrated unbelief, doubt and question.  I am equally convinced that when God calls us on that fact we do what Sarah did and DENY, DENY, DENY.  I know that in my own experience when I have smiled at the promises thinking them probably a figment of my own imagination the Holy Spirit has done to me what the LORD did to Sarah and said, “No you laughed!”  

The question is not our initial reaction to the promise but what we do in the subsequent days, weeks, months and/or years that is of most importance.  Abraham and Sarah did not simply say, “God said it so it will be” and failed to be active participants in the process.  Yes, they had pleasure even in their old age.  I can only imagine the surprise and thrill of finding that their bodies functioning as they possibly had not functioned in years, giving them a further confirmation that God’s Promise was true.  God will sometimes allow us to experience things in life that give solid verification of his promises. 

I do not believe that God was particularly upset with Sarah’s initial reaction.  I have heard Sarah vehemently criticized for her initial doubt and laughing at God’s Promise but is she dramatically different than us?  It is how we proceed after the promise that is of critical importance not how we initially react in the shock or surprise of the moment.  So, if God has made you a promise and your initial reaction was to doubt or even laugh at the prospect instead of beating yourself up, rejoice and remember Abraham and Sarah for what God promised became reality and Isaac was born.

Remember God’s Promises are sure so rejoice in this day He has created and walk in His blessings as you partake of His Abundant Life!  Blessings!