The LORD said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him . . . So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” (Genesis 18:10, 12 ESV)
Sarah laughed. There was no sound—only an inner response to the improbable words she heard. She stood just inside her tent, hidden from the view of the visitor talking with her husband Abraham. Have a baby? At ninety years of age? Yes, once her heart had stirred at God’s promise that she would bear a son. But now? Twenty-five years of waiting had eroded her hope. Her silent laughter came not from joy but from doubt and despair.
Sarah has many daughters. Our disappointments are most likely different from hers, but the wait seems so long. Months, even years, may have passed since God whispered words of promise to our heart. Now we wonder, “Did He really say … ? Perhaps I misunderstood. Was it my own desire, not His voice?” Proverbs 13:12 tells us that “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life” (ESV).
God’s Word shows us how to wait patiently for the fulfillment of His promises.
Acknowledge God’s faithfulness.
We can increase our faith by reminding ourselves of other times God kept His promises to us. Consider keeping a journal of answered prayers and other special provisions from the Lord. List verses of Scripture that tell of His faithfulness. He promised, “But I will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness. I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips” (Psalm 89:33-34, ESV).
Relinquish your expectations.
We often have preconceived ideas on how God will bring something to pass. I have found myself offering the Lord suggestions. “God, here is a way to do this. See how easy everything will be with my plan!” God does not need our help. God’s ways are so much better than our attempts to orchestrate events.
Trust God’s timing.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 assures us that there is “a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Sometimes God answers quickly. Other times, for whatever divine purpose, He allows us to wait. Do not run ahead of God. Sarah grew impatient and convinced Abraham to have a child by her maid Hagar. This impulsiveness began a chain of events that affect world events even today. God keeps His promises, but it will be in His time and in His way. Wait patiently.
“For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” (Hebrews 10:36, ESV)
Like Sarah, we may laugh at what looks like the improbability of God’s promise for our lives. Faith and doubt war inside. But also like Sarah, faith will hold us steady until we receive our promise.
“Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11).
Sarah also laughed another time. Imagine the joy that bubbled up the moment Isaac, whose name means “laughing one,” was placed in her arms for the first time. This laughter was not tinged with doubt and disappointment. This laughter broke forth in rejoicing—contagious laughter.
“And Sarah said, ‘God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.’” (Genesis 21:6, ESV).
Laughter springs up, daughter of Sarah, when we hold the promise.
Lord, thank You for Your promises. Help me to wait patiently for their fulfillment as You accomplish Your purpose in my life. My soul will be filled with laughter and joy because of Your faithfulness to me.
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