Sarah Laughed

And He [the Lord] 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.) Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ 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. - Genesis 18:10-14

When the Lord called Martie and me to Haiti it was to do something that I have never done before - build an orphanage. We arrived in Haiti in July 2011 and I was asked to have the orphanage operational by October 1. The Lord provided everything I needed to accomplish the task - materials, construction expertise, equipment, manpower. What I provided was leadership and a willing heart to walk by faith. Not long after the work had begun, I was talking to a Haitian pastor. He asked me when the orphanage would be ready for the children. When I told him, he laughed and said "Nothing happens quickly in Haiti". To which I replied - "Pastor - Sarah laughed!" I can say from the expression on his face he was not happy with my response - it was a challenge to his faith - and that, frankly, was my intent. On the first of October the children walked through the gate of their new home. 

‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.  ‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before [the Lord God]  you shall become a plain! - Zechariah 4:6-7

How is it that we can accept Genesis chapter one's creation story or John 1:1-3 but when we consider God's word to us, we doubt. Do you not know that Sarah conceiving was the Lord's will and not hers? She was resolved to a life of being barren - childless. Not that she did not long for a child. But the season for any possibility of that happening has long since passed. Recall when Jesus prayed in the Garden, He prayed - "Yet not my will but Your will be done" There is no heavenly drive-through where we can place our orders and then God puts them in a sack and hands them to us as we drive by. We must align our will with the Father and where our will is not aligned with His, we must yield our will to His. And that means picking up our cross and following after Jesus. 

Then He [Jesus] said to them all, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. - Luke 9:23

Are you ready to do that? Even it means that you don't get what you want or things don't go your way? Really? My victory in the orphanage was followed by my contracting malaria, followed by chikungunya disease, and then followed by cellulitis. God is faithful - in good times and in difficult times. In the midst of it all, good and bad - God has been and will be faithful. Put your trust in God.   

Think about it – Pray about it - Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone