“And the LORD said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD?’” (Gen. 18:13-14a NKJV).
What are You Looking At? Your Circumstances or Your Promise!
When I was completing my master’s degree in history at NCCU in Durham in the 1980s and participating in a teaching fellowship at Duke University, I was presented with a great opportunity. I laughed and waved it off because I thought it was impossible. One of my professors, Dr. Stephen Fortune, told me he wanted me to pursue a doctorate in history at Duke University. He said he could help me get into the program at Duke. I doubted my ability to matriculate through a doctoral program at the prestigious university while also teaching fulltime at Hillside High in Durham. I also did not believe I could get into the program at Duke despite the kind professor’s insistence and offer of assistance. Rather than being “bold and courageous” (1 Chr. 22:13b), I was fearful and lacked confidence.
We tend to look at the circumstances and then resort to our ‘realism’ when presented with an opportunity or when facing a crisis or a major challenge of any sort. In the text above the circumstances were that Abraham was about 100, his wife, Sarah was about 90, and even the Bible called them old (Gen. 18:11). Yet the LORD said, they would have a son. Sarah laughed because having a baby at 90 by a hundred-year-old man was not real to her. But the promise that she would conceive was from the LORD. It was REAL!
We think it is impossible because we are looking at the circumstances rather than at the promise of God. I thought a master’s degree was my limit, and for the next three decades it was. That’s how long it took me to finally enroll in a doctoral program and ultimately complete it. What if I had taken to heart the question the LORD posed to Abraham when Sarah laughed? “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” What if I had understood in my youth what it took me over 30 years to grasp? Nothing is too hard for the One who dwells within me. He is the One who keeps His promises to us!
So, what are you looking at, your circumstances or the One who asked, “Is Anything too hard for the LORD? Whatever it is that the LORD has promised you, go after it now!
Focus Quote: “But Jesus looked at them, and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26 NKJV).
Special Note: The 5:14 Prayer
Reminders:
Please continue to join us at 5:14 p.m. each day as we pause to pray. Just pause and pray wherever you are. Just connect to God and pray! I will also be praying with you.
Blessings, Peace, and Love,
Alton
Dr. Alton E. Sumner
(301) 921-6060
Listening to the Soul! Lightening the Heart! Lifting the Spirit!
