IS THERE ANYTHING TOO HARD FOR GOD?
“We must cease striving and trust God to provide what He thinks is best and in whatever time He chooses to make it available. But this kind of trusting doesn’t come naturally. It’s a spiritual crisis of the will in which we must choose to exercise faith.” ― Charles R. Swindoll
Genesis 18New International Version (NIV)
18 The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
3 He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord,[a] do not pass your servant by.
14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
Forward Thinkers the Lord appeared to Abraham during a period of his life when things seemed to be going the wrong direction and I believe that the Lord still appears to us in our time of need and confusion.
The Lord appeared to Abraham in the form of three angels and I believe these three angels represent the Holy Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit).
Forward Thinkers God the Father loves us unconditionally, God the Son saves us from the penalties of sin, and God the Holy Spirit guides us through this journey called life.
The bible says Abraham ran in a hurry and bowed down to the angels and the point of emphasis for us is to worship God without hesitation no matter our current situation. Forward Thinkers Abraham had every excuse not to worship God after twenty-five years of waiting on the promise to be fulfilled but instead of complaining he choose to worship. Forward Thinkers we should never allow circumstances to stop us from worshipping God.
Genesis chapter eighteen verse three says, “If I have found favor in your eyes Lord do not pass me by”. Abraham prayed that the favor of God would not pass him by or overlook his situation and it would be wise for us to pray this same pray and ask God not to allow His favor to miss our current situation.
Forward Thinkers some may be old enough to remember an old school hymn that kept the believer on their journey during some very difficult days. The song was called Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior and here are a few of the lyrics:
Pass me not, O gentle Savior, hear my humble cry; while on others thou are calling, do not pass me by. Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry; do not pass me by.
Forward Thinkers notice Abraham asked IF. IF is like a coin it has two sides, a positive side and a negative side. The devil wants us to focus only on the negative side but our faith seeks out the positive side. Forward Thinkers don’t think about what could go wrong think about what will go right.
Genesis chapter eighteen verse nine God asked Abraham a question, “Where is your wife Sarah?” Forward Thinkers God already knew the answer to the question. God ask questions not for himself but for us to identify where we are.
Forward Thinkers remember God asked Adam where are you. God wanted Adam to identify his current situation and here when God asked where is Sarah he didn’t mean her physical position. God wanted Abraham to identify Sarah’s level of faith and her mental and spiritual position.
Forward Thinkers if God asked you today where are you what would your answer be?
Genesis chapter eighteen verse ten: About this time next year Sarah will have a son. Forward Thinkers the Promise went from one day to by this time next year. Forward Thinkers you’re closer than you think and closer than you’ve ever been before. Just continue to embrace your journey forward.
Forward Thinkers please notice that God says I will surely return and even though God was talking to Abraham I believe God will surely return and fulfill every promise He ever spoke into my life.
God is a Promise Giver that we can surely put our trust in. Forward Thinkers the Apostle Paul declared in the New Testament in spite of all I’ve been through I’m still convinced God is surely able to protect me, guide me, and keep me. Forward Thinkers we all should touch and agree with Paul and declare blessing are coming my way.
Forward Thinkers while God was speaking to Abraham in Genesis chapter eighteen verse eleven his wife Sarah was listening to their conversation and she responded by laughing. Sarah was filled with shock and fear.
Forward Thinkers how do you respond to God’s Word? Here are five ways Sarah responded and five revelations we should gain from her response.
Forward Thinkers Sarah responded I’m already very old but we realize God is not controlled by time and we will continue to embrace our journey as we trust God through it all.
Forward Thinkers Sarah then replied I’m past the age of childbearing but she did not realize the fact God woke us up is proof enough it’s not too late. Forward Thinkers we must believe unlimited possibilities exist every day we wake up.
Forward Thinkers Sarah then laughed to herself. Unfortunately many use humor in the face of fear because they are overwhelmed by the realities surrounding their current journey. A Class clown is a perfect example because he acts out only to cover the fear that others will find out his lack of understanding and he uses humor to mask his fears.
Forward Thinkers the bible then says Sarah thought to herself. Forward Thinkers we all know so as a man thinks so is he therefore we should embrace our journey and get our thoughts right and watch God send the right results your way.
Forward Thinkers Sarah last response was declaring she is worn out. I know your journey can get hard and life can wear you out but trust me God desires to refresh you, restore you, and renew you so continue to embrace your journey knowing there is nothing too hard for God.
Forward Thinkers that leads us up to Genesis chapter eighteen verse fourteen where the question is asked is anything too hard for God? Forward Thinkers the good news here is that God answers His own question by declaring I will do what I said I was going to do for YOU.
Forward Thinkers get ready God is getting ready to do for you everything He promised He would do.
Genesis 21New International Version (NIV)
The Birth of Isaac
21 Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.
Forward Thinkers Genesis chapter twenty-one sums up the matter and the Lord did exactly what He promised He would do.
Pastor E. A. Deckard is the Senior Pastor/Founder of the Green House International Church located, in both Houston, Texas, and the Woodlands, Texas. Pastor Deckard is also the Co-Founder of the No More Bloodshed Movement. To contact Pastor Deckard for speaking engagements contact him at pr.ghic@gmail.com, follow him on Facebook, Instagram and Periscope @ Pastor E A Deckard or the church website www.ghic.net.