“Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
Genesis 18:10-14 (NIV)
There were three angelic beings who visited Abraham one day to bring important news. One angel gave him the message, but first asked, “Where is your wife, Sarah?” Sarah was listening from the tent, as the angel went on to tell Abraham that He would return the following year and Sarah would have a son.
Sarah, in overhearing these words, laughed to herself, at the words of that messenger, since she was in her late senior years.
Sarah didn’t laugh out loud for an anyone to hear, but she laughed to herself, in her thoughts, but the angelic messenger heard Sarah laugh.
He said to Abraham: “Why did Sarah laugh?” He heard her thoughts just as God hears every thought that passes through our minds. He reads our motives, our doubts, fears, the true intention of our heart, our heartbreaks and deepest anxieties.
Sometimes, like Sarah, we can easily think of all the reasons that God might not answer a prayer. In Sarah’s case, it was logical for her to doubt, since she was way past child bearing age. Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90, when she gave birth to that miracle baby, Isaac, in the following year.
Sarah had doubts, but not total unbelief. She didn’t have the same quality of faith that Abraham had, but on the positive side, Sarah was honest in her doubt, and had a sense of humor about it. The Lord is not offended by doubt, nor did He reprimand Sarah or change His mind about His promise. He just asked, “Why did Sarah laugh?” Sarah laughed because she didn’t know how amazing God is. She grew in faith later, when she realized He is the God of the impossible.
He never punishes us for doubt, but He does ask questions. He asks us “Don’t you trust me?” Three months passed by before Sarah became pregnant. God fulfilled His promise, and nine months later she held baby Isaac in her arms.
Some years ago, a friend of mine was diagnosed with a type of cancer in the connective tissue of her leg. When she was first diagnosed, she went to her empty church and sat alone in a pew, praying. She was filled with anxiety about what would happen next. In the silence of that empty church, she heard God’s voice within her, ask, “Don’t you trust Me?” That’s all He said, but it changed something within her.
That question melted her heart, and she surrendered all her anxieties to the Lord, from that day on. She figuratively left all her doubts with Jesus, on the altar that day. She went on to have surgery and survived. Today, she walks with a limp but her faith is stronger than ever.
God knows our thoughts and He hears every prayer, but He also knows our doubts, fears and anxiety. Doubt doesn’t disqualify anyone from God’s love or stop Him from fulfilling His promises. We were meant to grow in our faith, and much of that growth comes through our doubts.
A 19th century Scottish evangelist wisely explained the difference between doubt and unbelief:
Doubt is can’t believe.
Unbelief is won’t believe.
Doubt is honesty.
Unbelief is obstinacy.
Doubt is looking for light.
Unbelief is content with darkness.
(Henry Drummond)
Lord, help us who struggle with doubt to keep our trust in you with hope, faith and patience, while we wait with peace for the light of your promises to be fulfilled. Amen
