Genesis 18 tells us that three men came to visit Abraham. This record suggests that he recognized they were not ordinary men, because he ran to meet them and bowed himself to the ground before the leader of the three. He then offered them hospitality, as was customary during the time in which he lived. Abraham was honored by their presence and wanted to present the best, so he sent word to his wife, Sarah, to quickly make a meal of the finest quality. He then took it to them, and he stood by under a tree as they ate this meal. These men asked, “Where is Sarah, your wife?” In a usual context, men outside the family would not dare to inquire after a man’s wife. During that time, women were not seen as equal to men, and the culture was such that they remained quiet and behind the scenes. So, the mention of Sarah’s name tells us, as the readers of these scriptures, that this visit was heavenly, and the question represented the visit’s spiritual significance.
This was not the first time that Abraham had been visited by heavenly hosts. God had big plans for this ordinary man and his wife, and their faith needed the intervention of the supernatural in order to manifest the promise God had made to them. Sarah was in her senior years, way past the age of childbearing, but God ordained that she should deliver a child in her old age. The event would be miraculous, and this child would be produced from their faith in Him. This birth would exceed the boundaries of human expectation and understanding, and it would also demonstrate that Abraham and Sarah were fully persuaded that what God promises, He is willing and able to perform.
We need some Abraham and Sarah faith, and we also need to understand that they didn’t just automatically arrive at the place of unwavering faith. They went through some things. They were at times challenged by their fears, and in some cases, struggled with doubt and unbelief. This happens to us as well. We need to prepare our minds and hearts for the reality that life is dynamic, and it will stretch our faith in ways that are not always comfortable. Our desires prove this out for us, because how badly and sincerely we want our lives to change will be tested.
Philippians 4:19(ESV) tells us, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” When we give our lives to Jesus Christ and begin to live for him, we become God’s children. We can then have a confident expectation that God will take care of our needs, because this is what He has promised to do. He will supply all our needs and do so from His rich and infinite supply, but we must be mindful of the reality that God is not into greed. He has promised to supply our needs, but He will not support greediness, so we must keep that in check.
2Corinthians 9:8(NLT) says, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” Sometimes, we want things that we do not need. We are thankful to God for our current level of blessing, but we find that we need to expand. Our lives must increase as we move from one level of blessing to the next. This happens because we desire a fuller expression of all that we are, and we need greater resources—greater people, relationships, and tools—to fulfill our greatest potential. This desire for expansion and greater expression is in all rational human beings.
We don’t need new cars, clothes, shoes, and gadgets; we want them. We feel they will aid us in our quest to go higher, and our Heavenly Father’s grace will increase towards us in this manner, but there’s something we must understand. An increase in the good work that we do for God’s Kingdom must accompany our desire to go higher. This is the part that many of us miss.
God doesn’t want our lives to be stagnant. He wants them to be ever growing in Christ! As we grow in Christ, our needs and desires change, but our desire to do more for the Kingdom should change as well. When some of us hear this, we might laugh as Sarah did when she heard the prophecy of the three men. Genesis 18:12-15(NLT) tells us, “12 So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?” 13 Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
Sarah couldn’t see it, and this is where many of us are today. We’re asking for the blessing, but our minds can’t fathom doing a greater work for God than we’re currently doing. We must ask ourselves if we are really exercising faith when we expect God to give us the thing that we’ve prayed to receive but we don’t have faith that He will increase us spiritually and cause our ministries and good works to expand. One of the two should take higher precedence in our lives, and that is increasing in our gifts, talents, and abilities so that we can do greater works and please God in a greater way.
From the time the Word of the Lord was given to them, to the time that our dear sister in faith, Sarah, conceived a child, her faith and believing increased dramatically. She became sold out and fully persuaded in the Words God had spoken. She was convinced that even in her old age, the grace of God would do the miraculous and allow her to mother the child she and Abraham had so desperately wanted. Sarah stretched to take hold of the promise, and that is exactly what we must do. We cannot become weary in well doing, instead, we must tune in to the Lord and listen to what He says. He will give us revelation and instruction, and they will increase our faith to do greater works so that we are poised to welcome the newness He brings into our lives.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Stretch to Take Hold of the Promise”, written by Reverend Fran Mack. Edits by Kim Times and K. Stephens for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2023. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.