When God Gets the Last Laugh

When God Gets the Last Laugh Genesis 18:9-15; 21:1-7 Companion Text: Luke 1:37 Genesis 21:1-7 The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised. 2 Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him. 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 Now Sarah said, “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” 7 And she said, “Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

One of the things I appreciate about the Bible is that it never ignores the flaws of its heroes. Jonah was called to preach—but jumped aboard a boat instead.—David was a man after God’s own heart—but he sinned with Bathsheba—Peter boldly confessed Christ—yet later denied Him—And Sarah—the great matriarch of Israel—once laughed at God’s promise. Not a laugh of joy. A laugh of disbelief. A laugh that said, “no way God” The story unfolds beneath the oaks of Mamre. Three visitors come to Abraham’s tent, and one of them makes an astonishing announcement: “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.”“I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” Sarah overhears the conversation from inside the tent. The problem, of course, was that Abraham was nearly one hundred years old and Sarah was approaching ninety. Humanly speaking, the promise was impossible. And so… Sarah laughed Can you blame her? For years she had been barren. She had hoped—she prayed—she waited— and she grew old—eventually she reached the place in her life where many people reach. She stopped expecting. I can understand something of Sarah’s reaction. There was a time when I thought my years of active ministry were behind me. I had settled into retirement. My woodworking shop was organized. My plans were made. If someone had told me that I would once again be standing behind a pulpit week after week, serving a congregation on the Eastern Shore, I might have laughed and said, “You’ve got the wrong guy.” Yet God often smiles at our carefully laid plans. Like Sarah, we discover that what seems unlikely to us— is not difficult for God. The Lord had one more chapter to write. Now, my return to ministry is hardly comparable to Sarah giving birth at ninety years of age—but it is a reminder to me that God is often at work beyond the boundaries of our expectations. Just when we think the story is finished, God turns the page. I. Sometimes We Laugh Because We Have Stopped Expecting Sarah’s laughter was born from disappointment. Many of us know what that feels like. We pray for healing, but the illness remains.We pray for healing, but the illness remains. We pray for guidance, but the path seems unclear. We pray for a loved one, but nothing appears to change. After enough disappointments, hope can become weary. We still believe in God, but we stop expecting surprises. Sarah’s laughter was not simply unbelief. It was wounded hope. Yet the Bible repeatedly shows us that God often begins His greatest works when human hope seems exhausted. II. But Nothing Is Too Hard for the Lord The Lord answered Sarah’s laughter with a question: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” That question echoes throughout Scripture. The Red Sea stood before Israel. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” A shepherd boy faced Goliath. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” A virgin conceived a child. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” A stone sealed a tomb. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” And each time God demonstrated that human impossibilities do nor pose any obstacle to divine power. What God asked Sarah as a retorical question, Gabriel later declares to Mary as an certainty: “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” (Luke 1:37) Sarah looked at her age. God looked at His promise. Sarah counted her barren qyears. God counted His faithfulness.God counted His faithfulness. Faith begins when we stop measuring God by our circumstances and start measuring our circumstances by God. So what can we draw from this truth—that nothing is too hard for God. III. For one thing—God Can Turn Doubtful Laughter Into Joyful Laughter A year later the impossible happened. Sarah gave birth to Isaac. His very name means “laughter.” Imagine calling that child in from playing every evening and being reminded of the day you laughed at God’s promise. But now the laughter had changed. The laughter of Genesis 18 was the laughter of doubt. The laughter of Genesis 21 was the laughter of delight. Sarah declared: “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” That is what God does. He turns tears into testimonies. He turns disappointments into blessings. He turns Good Friday into Easter morning. And sometimes He takes our skeptical laughter and transforms it into joyful praise. Conclusion Perhaps there is someone here today carrying an impossible situation. A burden that seems too heavy.A burden that seems too heavy. A prayer that seems unanswered. A dream that appears to be dead. Sarah’s story reminds us that God’s promises are not limited by our calculations. The God who opened Sarah’s barren womb is the God who enabled a virgin to conceive. The God who fulfilled His promise to Abraham and Sarah is the God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead. And if He can do that, then no circumstance is beyond His power. There was a time when Sarah laughed at God’s promise. Later she laughed because of God’s fulfillment. The first laugh came from unbelief. The second came from wonder. May God grant us the faith to trust Him when His promises seem impossible—and may we discover, as Sarah did, that in the end God gets the last laugh. Amen