THEY BOTH LAUGHED

I used to think only Sarah laughed in unbelief when God reassured her of still giving birth at her old age. But it came to my awareness lately that Abraham also laughed in unbelief. In fact he laughed first before Sarah followed suit (See Gen.17:17-19 & Gen. 18:11-15). Genesis 17:17-19 says “Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!" Then God said: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.” (NKJV). Abrahams laugh was a big one. The Bible tells us that he fell on his face and laughed! That’s big laugh, it sounds like he had a laughing session of doubt. Doesn’t it? Sarah had long passed menopause, and here God is still saying she’d have a child. They didn’t laugh because it was funny but because they doubted. They had stretched their faith to the elastic limit. But what strikes me most is the fact that even Abraham – the father of faith – laughed in unbelief. We hardly hear that Abraham laughed in unbelief. No, we wouldn’t mention that. Abraham is taken to be the superman while Sarah’s laugh is always our instance for unbelief and doubt because we think Abraham was such a perfect man who had a perfect faith.

Abraham believed God quite alright but he never had a perfect faith all the time. God always made up for his deficiencies as He does for us today. Well, their laughter didn’t stop God. He didn’t give up on His plan even though they laughed in doubt. If we must possess a perfect faith before getting God’s attention then I wonder who will ever get His attention. God always gives us the opportunity to start out and grow in faith. The more results we get by using our faith, the more we are encouraged to use it and the stronger it becomes. We must grow in faith! Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah 90 years old when they had their first baby – can you beat that? Well, how long have you waited? If God kept His words to Abraham, He sure would keep His Words concerning you if you remain in faith and wait patiently. Patience is not just waiting, it is waiting with the right attitude says Joyce Meyer. Real faith is built on the knowledge of God and His Word. The bases of faith is to know who God actually is and then what He says would mean much to you.

It might seem as though time is gone and there is no more hope of seeing that promise come to pass, God still wants you to hold on to His Word. He is ever faithful – He never lies to anyone. If He says it, He’d surely make it good. The Scripture declares “that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Heb 6:12 (NKJV). Notice, it didn’t just say faith but it says FAITH and PATIENCE. We need the both to be stable until the promised good is delivered unto us in the natural. We have an assurance from the Lord Himself in Jeremiah 32:27 “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?”

The truth is, God never expects perfect faith f

rom us before doing things in or through us. He just expects a child-like trust. Sometimes we know too much to doubt but children don’t know that much – they easily trust! Most times God promises us things that make us laugh because of the inability of our minds to comprehend or accommodate them. God is bigger than our minds! Has God promised you something that made you laugh lately? Well, if you don’t have such promises from God, perhaps you are still dealing with the small things of life. If you walk with God, most of the time He gives you visions that make you laugh and sometimes in order to keep from doubting you may just try not to think about it much but just keep saying “Lord, I believe you anyhow.” Just trust God anyhow. You don’t need to know how He’s going to do it. Just trust Him all the way. He is faithful!