Tag: laughed

36.q. “Great and awesome God”

 

 

Genesis 18:1 And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.” And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” 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 tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, 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. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

 Deuteronomy 7:21    You shall not be in dread of them, for the LORD your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.

 Job 42:2  “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

 Jeremiah 32:17    ‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.

 Matthew 19:26    But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

 Ephesians 3:20    Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us

We see a day in the life of Abraham. it’s hot and he is old and sitting in a bit of tent shade. Abraham sees messengers from God, bows down before them, offers a meal, prepares a meal, and serves them. He is told in one year’s time Sarah will conceive and give birth. 

Abraham may not have known the Lord was coming to speak with him but he surely had an expectant hope that He would or could come. He invited the Lord to stay. He wanted to serve the Lord. He wanted to be in the presence of the Lord. He found comfort in the Lord. He believed in the promises made by the Lord. 

We do well to simply live in the presence of God and wanting to serve Him rather than ourselves, wanting to hear from Him rather than things of this world, wanting to be in His presence rather than being out of it. It is in His presence our faith is rooted and grown and matured. It is in His presence we find purpose and meaning. It is in His presence continually that we find peace in times of unrest, hope in times of frustration, power in times of weakness, and clarity in times of confusion.  

It is when we live knowing we are in the presence of God that we will find ourselves trusting, relying, believing, following, obeying, and serving Him and wanting everything we think, say, and do to Honor and Glorify Him.

Fully convinced

Genesis 17:15  And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.  I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”  Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”

Romans 4:19-20    He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.  No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

Hebrews 11:11-19    By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.  Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore  These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.  For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.  If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.  But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.  By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son,  of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”  He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

Faith is somewhat of a mystery. Scripture says it is the “substance of things hoped for and evidence of things not seen.”  In this mystery we find salvation and forgiveness of sin.  We find strength for today and hope for tomorrow.  We experience peace when things around us are falling apart.  We find joy in the midst of trials.  We learn to lean not on our own understanding but through prayer we, by faith, let our requests be know to God.  By faith we trust He will guide, direct, protect, and care for our needs.  By faith we wake each day knowing He is in control and has a perfect plan and purpose for our day.  By faith we acknowledge His unlimited steadfast love and control over all.