Punta Gorda Seventh-day Adventist Church

Scripture: (Gen 18:14 NKJV)  "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."

Observation: God first appears to Abram and gives him the promise that he would be a father of many nations and particularly the father of the faith.  God also assures him that his lineage would be directly through a son He would give Abram and his wife Sarai.  Abram’s first reaction was to fall “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?’” (17:17)  Later God reaffirmed the promise to Abraham and it was then Sarah’s turn to laugh “within herself, saying, ‘After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?’” (18:12).  It is at this time that God speaks the words of our text for today.

Application: I guess probably most of us would at least find it hard to believe that what are impossibilities God can turn into possibilities.  There have been many times when couples come to me for help, at the end of their rope, when they feel there’s nothing else that can be done to save their marriage.  Those that are willing to give God another chance have experienced great changes and a rebirth in their relationships.  But sadly, there have also been those who believe that not even God can save their marriage.  In a way, they have laughed at God and His promises.  If nothing is impossible for God, then He can, and if we submit to Him He will heal our diseases, our troubled marriages, our deep wounds, and He will rebuild, heal, and reinvigorate what we thought would be impossible.  So, don’t give up on God and don’t give up on your marriage; God can make it what He intended and what you’d like it to be.

A Prayer you May Use: God of the impossible, today I thank you for my marriage, for my spouse, and for my family.  I thank you for taking two imperfect people and giving us a warm, loving relationship, one where we can help and encourage each other, one where we can love and strengthen each other, and one where we can honor and glorify you.  God of the impossible, turn what we think is not possible into the miraculous reality of answered prayer.

Used by permission of Adventist Family Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.