Genesis 17:15-19 15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.” 17 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?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” 19 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.
Genesis 18:9-15 9 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.[a] 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!”
SOAP – Genesis 18:12-14
God promises Abraham and Sarah that they would bear a son, Isaac, in their old age. Because they doubted God’s promise, they conspired to circumvent God’s plan and Abraham fathered a child through Sarah’s maidservant. Their decision would cause disharmony in their family, especially after God fulfilled His promise. When we run ahead of God’s will, we can expect turmoil and confusion.
In what situation are you struggling with waiting for God’s plan, His will, and His timing in your life? True faith in God is the commitment to surrender our plans, our agenda, and our desires to those of God. When this seems impossible, we are to look to Jesus as our example. He was willing to submit to God, trusting and obeying His will even in the most painful and difficult of circumstances.
Father God, I thank You that You are all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-sufficient. Help me to surrender my dreams, my plans, and my expectations to Your will for my life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.