The hard things

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Genesis 18:1-15


TO CHEW ON: "'Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son." Genesis 18:14

The Lord's question here is rhetorical. We hear, in our imaginations, a resounding, "No, nothing is too hard for the Lord." But why does God so often insist on doing things the "hard" way? Could it be for some of these reasons?

- To get our attention.
It's not big deal when a 26- or 36-year-old woman has a baby. But someone past menopause is another thing altogether. It's amazing. We ask how can this be, and realize a God-thing is going on here.

- To sharpen our desire and test our faith.
Though Sarah and even Abraham seem to have given up on God keeping His promise to them, Hannah kept begging God for a baby. She never gave up praying. When God answered her prayer, she demonstrated her trust even more by keeping her promise and giving her little boy back to God.


- To alert us to the significance of certain lives and events.
More than one important Bible character was born to an apparently barren woman (Isaac, Joseph, Samuel, John the Baptist).

- To reflect glory back on God
I am reminded of Paul's words to the Corinthians: "However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves" (2 Corinthians 4:7 Amplified). That says to me that whenever God demonstrates the "precious treasure" of His message and presence in our lives by accomplishing anything—easy or hard—the glory goes to Him.

What hard things are we facing today of health issues, barrenness, wayward kids, broken relationships...? As we bring them to God, let's remember: "Is anything too hard for the Lord?"

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this reminder that nothing is too hard for You. I bring you the hard things in my life ____. I believe they are not too hard for You to handle. Amen.

MORE: "A Way to See in the Dark" by Jason Gray