Believing When We Don't See

Vanessa Wu, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Read Genesis 21:1-7

Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

What a miracle story. I love this scripture because it shows how God can do the impossible, the unimaginable when we cannot see it. Who would have said that a 100-year-old man and a 90-year-old woman would nurse children at this age! It seems impossible - anatomically impossible! That is, by human standards. But not by God’s standards.

Our God is one who is generously gracious. He makes promises and fulfills them, no matter how unlikely it may seem from a human perspective. Sarah was probably feeling great doubt when God told her she would give birth to a son (she laughed, essentially scoffed, when God told her earlier in chapter 18). What makes sense in our sight and to our knowledge is not how our God works!

“Oh, you're in a nursing home?” “No, I'm nursing in my home.”

Can you believe it - what a marvelous surprise! I’d imagine Sarah finds it amusing to break the news of Isaac’s birth to her friends and family! No wonder they named him Isaac because that is what his name means - laughter; bringing great joy and gratitude to the family. Our God fulfills promises not because of what we have done, but because of who He is. Do you believe in God’s fulfillment of His promises to you?

“Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” Genesis 18:14

Read Genesis 21:14-20

Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba.

When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she began to sob.

God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”

Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.

Although Hagar loves her son, God loves him even more. God hears the cries of Hagar. God attends to the needs of Ishmael. God sees them, and He sees you.

Even when we feel like everything around us is failing, God never fails. When it is hard to believe that any good can come from the terrible situation that we are in, God shows up. Maybe not the time that you wanted, maybe not in the manner that you wanted, but He always shows up.

Do you believe that God will show up in your life when you do not see it? What is something challenging right now that you find it hard to believe that God understands you?

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:18

Just like glow sticks, sometimes we need to be crushed in order to effectively shine. God draws near to the broken-hearted. He keeps track of your tears, and He wants you to cast your cares on Him! We have to remind ourselves of God’s promise - because we can be fickle and forgetful. If God says something, it has to happen, and it will be fulfilled. God’s delays are not God’s denials. Let’s choose to believe even when we do not see!