Laugh at it or Live in it?

“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?”  [Gen 18:12]

“Mary responded, ‘I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.’”  [Luke 1:38]

There is no way! It’s humanly impossible! I know we have made great strides in medical technology, but I have yet to hear of a 90-year-old woman giving birth to a child! Sarah’s husband was 99 years old, and they were going to conceive a son! I believe that God has a sense of humor but seriously, this is pushing it!  Apparently, Sarah thought God was joking too because she laughed! I would have laughed too! You?

But God was not joking! When God declares a promise, He always delivers. It may seem like a long time or that He has forgotten, but if He said it, you can take it to the bank! It’s going to happen!

How would you have responded if you were in Sarah’s position—90 years old and God tells you that you are going to birth a son from the seed of your husband who is 99 years old (you know how that happens, right?)?

Then there is Mary. She is but a teenager, and a virgin, too, at the time an angel appears to her and proclaims that she is going to give birth to a son. Seriously? How is that possible? But instead of laughing, she believed! She lived in the promise that what God said would happen! If you were in Mary’s position, how would you have responded to the angel telling you that same news?

Two different women – two different responses! Sarah laughed at God’s promise while Mary lived in the promise!

That challenges me. I wonder how I would have responded? Better yet, how do I respond today to God’s promises?

What about you? Are you waiting for the fulfillment of a seemingly impossible promise from God? What’s your response: laughing at the promise or living in the promise?