Is anything too hard for the Lord?
O God, You declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
(Anglican Book of Common Prayer, 2019)
Genesis 18:1-14 NLT
The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day. He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground. “My lord,” he said, “if it pleases you, stop here for a while. Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet. And since you’ve honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey.”
“All right,” they said. “Do as you have said.”
So, Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, “Hurry! Get three large measures of your best flour, knead it into dough, and bake some bread.” Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant, who quickly prepared it. When the food was ready, Abraham took some yogurt and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them in the shade of the trees.
“Where is Sarah, your wife?” the visitors asked.
“She’s inside the tent,” Abraham replied.
Then one of them said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!”
Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent. Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children. 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?”
Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
The word translated “hard” in Genesis 18:14 is the Hebrew word pele, which can mean “wonderful” or “extraordinary” or “hard to understand.” God’s word, the testimonies of the Law, are called “wonderful” (Psalm 119:129), and the prophesied Messiah is described as the “wonderful Counselor” (Isaiah 9:6). This word describes that which is miraculous, beyond our understanding, or of such an extraordinary nature as to make it mysterious or difficult to comprehend.[1] So, we might think of the Lord’s question to Abraham this way:
Is anything too wonderful for God to do?
Is anything too extraordinary for God to do?
Is there a miracle that is beyond God’s ability to do?
Of course, the answer is an emphatic “No!” It is for us to rest by faith in the sure word of God to us; the sure promises of God. Charles Wesley put it this way:
Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees
And looks to that alone;
Laughs at impossibilities, and cries
“It shall be done!”
And cries, “It shall, it shall be done!”
And cries, “It shall, it shall be done!”
Laughs at impossibilities, and cries
“It shall be done!”
It is good that faith comes before reason so that we do not appear to demand our proofs from human beings but rather from the Lord our God. How unfitting it is for us to believe human testimony concerning others and not to believe God’s oracles concerning himself! Therefore, let us imitate Abraham so that we may be heirs of the land through the justice of faith, through which he was made an heir of the world.
(Ambrose)
The God of Abraham Praise
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Corinthians 4.15).
[1] Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon
