August 19, 2013
Is Anything Too Hard For The Lord?”
Sharon Jaynes
Today’s Truth
Is anything too hard for the Lord? (Genesis18:14, NIV).
Friend to Friend
Do you need something from God today? That’s a silly question. We all do! Every day! All the time. We can’t do life on our own. And if we try, we will fail desperately. God is the only One who can meet our needs.
We see the all-sufficiency of God’s power on display throughout Scripture. In Genesis 12:1-3 God gave Abram an incredible promise.
The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.
I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.
And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
But time passed, and Abram and his wife Sarai had no children…no heir. When Abram was ninety-nine years old, and Sarai was eighty-nine, God came to him once again and reiterated His promise. In this scene we find the first declaration of His name El Shaddai.
I am God Almighty [El Shaddai]; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers. (Genesis 17:1-2)
God then changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah. But that wasn’t the only thing that was about to change. God was about to perform a miracle by the name of Isaac. Sarah, He announced, was going to have a baby.
I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her (verse 16).
Can you imagine what Abraham must have thought? God, are You kidding? I am ninety-nine years old. My wife is eighty-nine. Her womb is as good as dead. I’m a shriveled-up old man. I know You mean well, but really? A child? From Sarah?
A short time later, two angels came to Abraham with a message from God: “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son” (18:10). This time, the eavesdropping Sarah laughed. When the angel questioned the reason for her laughter, he said, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (verse 14).
When God appeared to Abraham and introduced the name El Shaddai, God Almighty, Abraham believed that God was able to accomplish all that He had promised. God’s words nourished Abraham’s faith that the Almighty would do what He said He would do. It didn’t matter that Abraham was ninety-nine years old. It didn’t matter that Sarah was eighty-nine years old. The laws of nature do not apply to the One who created them. With God, all things are possible. With the revelation of His name, God let Abraham know that His power was all - sufficient and He could do anything He pleased. He was not bound by the realm of the physical world or fettered by the decisions of man. Nothing—not even a dried-up womb or a withered-up man—could stop His word from coming to pass.
So what about you? What about your situation? I ask the same question the angel asked Sarah: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14).
No matter what you’re going through today, you can cling to the truth that God is El Shaddai, the All-Sufficient One. He has within Himself the life-giving sustenance you need…the life-giving sustenance your heart longs for.
Let’s Pray
Lord, I’ll admit, sometimes I get tired of waiting for Your promises in my life. I get weary. I grow frustrated. I become doubtful. But today I’m choosing to believe You. I am not going to worry because nothing is too hard for You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
Look up 2 Corinthians 9:8 and Ephesians 3:20-21.
What do these verses tell you about God’s ability to meet your needs?
What in your life that is too hard for God accomplish? I want you to click over to my Facebook page and tell me the answer to that question. It will do your heart good!
More from the Girlfriends
Gwen, Mary, and I have a brand new book hot off the press. It is titled Knowing God by Name. The book is an eight-week devotional study of 40 names of God. To learn more, click over to our Knowing God by Name page to download a free sample chapter and watch free videos. We’ll see you there!
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