"When feeling defeated, remember that God is not a God of defeat."- Wesleyne

Word of the Day

"Is anything too hard for the Lord?" - Genesis 18:14

The story of Sarah and Abraham in Genesis 18:9-15 offers profound lessons.

Sarah overhears a conversation between God and Abraham about her bearing a child in her old age, leading to skepticism and laughter.

This story reflects human tendencies to eavesdrop and internalize, often leading to misinterpretation.

Sarah's negative self-description ("worn out") illustrates the danger of adopting negative mindsets, which can hinder our faith and limit God's power in our lives.

Despite Sarah's doubt and laughter, God reaffirms His promise, asking, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?"

This question challenges our limited perceptions of God's abilities.

It encourages us to trust in God's power to overcome any obstacle, no matter how unstoppable it may seem.

Sarah's fear leads her to lie, reflecting the consequences of disbelief and insecurity.

Yet, despite her doubts and deception, God fulfills His promise, blessing her with a son. This illustrates God's faithfulness even when we falter.

Takeaways

• When we feel defeated, remember that God is not a God of defeat. His power surpasses our circumstances.
• Negative emotions, like doubt and fear, are tools of the enemy and should not be embraced. Instead, focus on God's promises and His ability to overcome.
• Surrender control to God, trusting Him completely to work in our lives. Letting go of our own plans allows God's plan to unfold.
• Continually release worries and anxieties to God, trusting that He will take care of them. Trust that God's promises are true, even when they seem impossible.

Chapters

• 00:00: Sarah's initial reaction to the promise reflects feelings of defeat and skepticism.
• 00:58: Despite human doubt, God's power is limitless. His promises are sure.
• 03:18: Surrendering control allows God to work miracles in our lives.
• 05:11: Trusting God involves continually releasing worries and anxieties, knowing He will provide.

What questions are you struggling to answer? Wesleyne would love to answer these questions for you personally. Send any questions or prayer requests to hello@askwesleyne.com

Follow Wesleyne on Instagram @wesleynewhittaker

Ahem.

Where is your wife Sarah? They asked. They're in the tent, he said. 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 have this pleasure? Then the Lord said to Abraham, why did Sarah laugh and say, will I really have a child? Now that I am old, is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son. Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, I did not laugh. But he said, yes, you did laugh. Genesis 18 verses nine through 15.

This story is one that is often used to describe so many different things. And the full story of Sarah and Abraham includes Sarah asking her maid, her servant to sleep with Abraham because she was unable to bear a child. So she wanted her husband to have an heir. So the servant did what Sarah did.

She was asked to do and then Sarah resented her. She was mad at her after she did something she wanted to do. And at this point in this story of Abraham and Sarah, this is the third time that God has told them that they would be parents, that Sarah would have a child. And so as we walk through this text, what we see is,

Sarah, she overheard something that really wasn't meant for her to hear. So the first point that I want to make here is at times there are things in our life that we overhear and we internalize and we misinterpret them. And if you're eavesdropping, if you're listening into a conversation that you're not supposed to be in,

and you hear somebody say something that makes you uncomfortable that you don't agree with and you internalize that, that wasn't for you to hear. It doesn't matter if they are talking about you and you're saying, but why are they talking about me? Why are they slandering my name? Why are they doing this? Why are they doing that? It's not your job. We need to always ensure that if we are a third party to a conversation that

doesn't specifically involve us, that we don't internalize the things that we're hearing.

Verse 12 is one that is so profound. So Sarah laughed to herself and she said, after I am worn out and my Lord is old, will I now have this pleasure? She was using these terms to describe herself. Worn out? What person wants to think, what person thinks of themselves as worn out? That is not a positive way.

to be describing herself. So her mindset was negative. Her mindset was, I'm already old and I'm already worn out and he is old. Will I have this pleasure? It doesn't matter how old you are. It doesn't matter what you have done in the past. It doesn't matter how bad you are with money, how much of a...

a wife that you've been where you think that you haven't been a good wife or you haven't been a good parent or you haven't shown up and done things in the best way, always pleasing to God. If you use negative terms to describe yourself, then you will always be in a spiral of negativity. If you call yourself unlovable, if you call yourself worn out, if you call yourself ugly, you will think,

these things, you will take these on as your identity. And that is not what God wants us to do. He does not want us to use negativity to describe ourselves. In the next verse, the Lord said, why did Sarah laugh and ask, will I really have a child now that I'm old? And verse 14 is so profound.

Is anything too hard for the Lord? Is anything too hard for Him?

Is it too hard for him to get you out of debt? Is it too hard for him to allow you to get your first home? Is it too hard for you to get out of an abusive relationship? Is it too hard for him to heal you of whatever ailment you're suffering with? Is anything too hard for the Lord? No.

There's not a thing that is too hard for our God. In those times when you feel hopeless and you feel like giving up, God wants you to give up because when you give up, that means you are letting him.

do his work. You are letting him order your steps.

Give it to God. Nothing is too hard for Him. Nothing. The things that you're dealing with, you're like, no one will understand me. No one will be able to talk to me. I don't have anybody to talk to. I don't know what to do. Take it to God because nothing, I tell you, nothing is too hard for Him.

And this text wraps up with Sarah being afraid. And so she lied and she said she didn't laugh. Again, another emotion, another thing that she caused on herself.

So she started this text calling herself worn out and laughing. What I imagined was one of those nervous laughter like, oh, ha ha ha.

And then when she was confronted, she became afraid and she lied.

So when we think about who Sarah was, her mindset, how she labels herself negatively, how she...

then became afraid when she was confronted with the things that she said and quiet. And so she had to lie to cover this up. But you know what? God still blessed her. He still gave her a son. Although she laughed at what God said and she lied to him, he still fulfilled his promise and he still blessed her with a son.

Maybe you're laughing and saying, God, I will never be in a place where I am not living check to check. God, I will never be in a place where I have a healthy relationship with my parents. I will never bear my own child.

and you take things into your own hands like Sarah did. You try to do things outside of the will of God.

That doesn't mean that he's not going to fulfill his promise to you.

So today I ask you, what are those things that you have hardened your heart for? What are those things that you are in disbelief about God doing and fulfilling and those prayers that you don't think that he's heard and he will answer for you?

I want you to turn that disbelief into belief. I want you to stop doubting God. I want you to trust him and know that he's a God who blessed Sarah's barren womb with a baby in her old age. He is a God who blessed me in my

Darkest days. He's a God who delivered me from so many things And he's a God that loves you. He's a guy that will provide for you. He is a good

Remember, trust God. Don't doubt Him. Don't laugh at the things that He's told you He would do, even if they seem impossible.