January 16: Genesis 21 1-7

Key Verse: Genesis 21 5
Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

Devotion:
As I grow older I begin to relate more to this situation Abraham found himself in and I draw strength in my faith in reading how God was able to do this for him and Sarah. Nothing is impossible for God and this is just one of the stories we can hold on to realising just what God can do. As I recover from my illness last year I find all sorts of things which I used to do without thinking now need a bit of forward planning!

But this was not the case for Abraham and Sarah; though they doubted and tried to fix things themselves, God continued to carry out His promises. He gave strength to both of them to be able to cope with childbirth at their age and also to bring up the child – what use would they be if they could not bring their promised child up in the ways of the Lord?

Because they kept a hold of their faith – even though they had doubted and probably still did to a certain extent, God was willing and able to make it all possible. Abraham had remembered the promise and held on to it with faith. Sarah held onto her faith alongside Abraham. Together they strengthened each other and were able to hold onto God in their old age.

We may doubt dates and wonder whether Abraham was actually so old, but this fact is upheld by other people and recorded in history. We know this to be true, but still we have our doubts… We need to be a bit more like Abraham and Sarah and support each other in having faith in God. Christ came up uphold His promises and we should hold on fast to all God has done for us over the years.

Both Abraham and Sarah celebrated their life with God and were able to spread happiness and be witnesses to others showing all of us just what God can do when we believe in Him!

Points to Ponder:
Do you like to believe others?

Will you tell someone this story and encourage them?