25 Days of Advent: Forged for our Hope – Day 22

While in the midst of a deep discussion over hot coffee, a mentor shared with my husband a sentiment that rooted itself into his soul. He asked if my husband knew when it was the best time to plant a tree. Put on the spot by a riddle, my husband confessed he didn’t have an answer. In a straight forward manner laced with the smirk of a child, he revealed the simplicity of the answer.

Ten years ago.

There is a well-known proverb proclaiming that hindsight is better than foresight. I means that it is always easier for us to evaluate past choices than at the time we have to make the choice. Perhaps Sarah, the wife of Abraham, experienced such a feeling after she laughed at God and His prophecy, and then denied that she did it. Perhaps she should not have wavered in her faith.

But the Lord’s word is never failing and His plans will always prevail. Miracles happen during difficult situations and circumstances because we are often forced to stop standing in the way thinking we can do better than God. Sarah was barren for many, many years and tried to push the miracle along by convincing Abraham to lie with her servant Hagar and impregnate her so God’s promise would come to fruition. A son was born to Hagar and Abraham who was named Ishmael.

Then, at the ripe old age of ninety years old, God told Abraham that Sarah would have a son in fulfillment of His promise that Abraham’s descendants would be a great nation. Sarah was eavesdropping and overheard the Lord and laughed at His proclamation for she was elderly and did not believe she could bear a child. By the next year, when Ishmael was approximately thirteen years of age, Sarah bore a son named Issac who’s name means “he laughs”.

Genesis 17:19, Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac.I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.

The Lord would not go back on His word nor covenant to Abraham and the promise was fulfilled. Again, the Messiah would come from the lineage of Jacob, Issac, and Abraham. Christ fulfilled this prophecy as recorded in the Gospel of Luke:

Luke 3:34, the son of Jacob,
the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham,
the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,

We are forged for our hope when we trust that God can perform miracles beyond our human capacity for understanding. The facts may not add up in our limited vision, but God does not need the facts to push forward His plans and purposes. He will not break His covenant with His people and sent His Son to stand in the gap so that we may come to Him. He has placed dreams and visions within our hearts to be carried out for His great purposes.

There were grave consequences to Sarah standing in the way of God’s miracle and attempting to push it along by her own hands. Let us learn from Sarah’s hindsight that when we are seeking the kingdom, wanting to give all of glory unto the one true King, we can be sure that the forging will test our hearts of our true motives and desires.

All Jesus needs is a heart and soul willing to submit unto Him. Like Sarah, we may be tempted to laugh in innocent ignorance, or stand in disbelief at the facts allowing our faith to waver, but the Lord’s plans will prevail if we can set aside our pride trusting that He will never leave us nor forsake us along the journey.

Father, don’t let me stand in the way of your miracle for I know that I can do nothing good and pure for your kingdom by my own hand. Though sometimes I may waver in my faith, unable to see your plan in foresight, I know that your word can always be trusted. In Jesus name, amen.

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