Time to Laugh

Today, I read a bit about Sarah. There are many stories about Sarah but the one that sticks out to me the most is found in Gen. 18. Sarah laughed at God's promise to give her a son. She laughed "within herself" and God heard her, of course. Sarah wasn't the only one laughing. In Gen 17:17, Abraham had a good laugh concerning the same thing.

Why is it so funny that God would promise them a son? The timing. Sarah and Abraham were both old. Sarah was no longer of child bearing age and she actually thought the idea of having sex with Abraham was comical (Gen. 18:12).

Laughter and timing are very significant in this story. The time the promise is revealed to Abraham is a year prior to Sarah "overhearing" the promise from inside the tent (Gen 17:21, 18:9,10). The time the child would be born goes beyond what is physically possible; "Lord, you do realize I'm ninety years old?" says Sarah. I can imagine Him also saying, "Sarah, my timing is much different than yours. I can't be bothered with silly details like your age. Let's get on with building a nation, shall we?"

No matter how laughable God's timing is, He fulfills His promises. Even when we think that something is impossible or a miracle couldn't possibly occur, God provides. For me, waiting is the hardest part. Waiting for God's perfect timing was hard for Sarah too. She tried to take matters into her own hands and it didn't go very well (Gen. 16). It's encouraging to know, God still used her to build a nation. He still blessed her and gave her the one desire of her heart; a son. Then her laughter was rejoiceful (Gen. 21:6).

This story proves that no matter how unuseable we think we are, God can still use us. All in His timing, of course.