Genesis 21 - Turning Sorrow into Laughter

For their entire marriage, Abraham and Sarah were unable to have children. Sarah was barren, and thus unable to have children. This was a source of sorrow for Sarah, because her desire (like most women in that day) was to bare a son for her husband, Abraham.

God promised Abraham and Sarah a son, and years passed before He followed through on that promise. Nevertheless, Abraham and Sarah continued to believe the Lord, and they continued to serve Him. This continued until Genesis 21, where Sarah finally had a son. God kept His promise.

Abraham and Sarah named their son, Isaac, which means "laughter." Sarah said the Lord had made her to laugh. From her experience, we learn that God turns our sorrow into laughter.

In verses 1-2, the Bible says "And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him."

God kept His promise to Abraham. Even though years had passed, God kept his promise in His time. God delivered the promised son to Abraham and Sarah. This teaches us that God keeps all His promises, in His time. He kept His promise to Abraham, and He keeps His promise to us.

The Lord has promised us that He will return to earth and establish His Kingdom, and He will wipe away our  tears. Those promises will be kept, in His time. 2 Peter 3:9 says "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Christians have been looking forward to the return of Christ for nearly 2,000 years. Though a long time has passed, we can still trust Christ to follow through on His promise to return and set up His Kingdom.

Genesis 21:6 says "And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me." By fulfilling His promise of a son to Abraham and Sarah, God had caused them to laugh with joy. He had turned their sorrow into laughter. The Bible teaches that God will one day turn our sorrow into laughter as well.

In John 16:20, Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world will rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned to joy." Jesus told His disciples that the day was coming when He would no longer be with them in body, and the world would celebrate and persecute them. Nevertheless, the day would come when their sorrow would be turned to joy. Jesus would welcome them into Heaven.

In John 16:22, Jesus continued, "And ye now therefore have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." When Jesus returns, our sorrow will be turned to joy, and that joy will be everlasting. No more will we mourn the loss of loved ones, fear the wrath of the creditors, or face ridicule for our beliefs. Our sorrow will be turned to everlasting joy.

So, keep living your faith, knowing that one day, your sorrow will be turned to joy. God will keep His promise.

God gives comfort. After the birth of Isaac in Genesis 21, we have an incident. Isaac was being weaned (which happened at the age of 5), and Abraham threw a feast to celebrate Isaac's weaning. Ishmael (who would have been an older teenager by this point) mocked Isaac, which infuriated Sarah. So, Sarah told Abraham to kick Ishmael and Hagar out. In verse 11, the Bible says the whole situation was very grievous to Abraham.

However, God comforted Abraham. In verses 12-13, God says "Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed." God comforted Abraham by reminding him of His plan for Isaac, and by promising to take care of Ishmael and Hagar. God comforts us today in similar ways. He reminds us of His plan, and He reminds us to trust Him with the things beyond our control. He speaks to us through His scriptures.

God also comforted Ishmael and Hagar. In verses 17-18, the Bible says "And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of Heaven, and said unto her, what aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not, for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, and lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand, for I will make him a great nation."

God comforted Hagar by reminding her that He hears. He heard the lad's (Ishmael's) cries. He knew their hearts. He hears our cries, and our prayers. He also reminds Hagar of His promises to her concerning her son, Ishmael. God still gives us these comforts today. Pray to Him in faith, knowing that He hears your prayers... and trust Him to answer your prayers.

God provides. In verse 19, "God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water, and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad to drink." God provided their needs by leading her to a well. He supplies our needs as well.

Then, in verse 20, "God was with the lad, and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer." God was with Ishmael, blessed his efforts, and grew his talents. God is with us today. He blesses our efforts and blesses us with talents and gifts.

We serve an awesome and wonderful God... one Who loves us, comforts us, turns our sorrow to laughter, and supplies our needs. He is more than worthy of our worship. Do you worship Him? Do you trust Him? Do you believe in Him?

May God bless you today.

Daily Devotional Time: Psalm 3

God still performs miracles. I'm not talking about televangelist miraculous showmanship miracles, I'm talking about God stepping in and intervening on behalf of His children.

Having spent my entire childhood and part of my young adulthood as a lost person, and struggling in my faith during my 20s, I came to adopt a creed of "lift up your requests to God, but don't be too disappointed if He doesn't answer." It was the faithless viewpoint of one who had never fully observed God move.

However, since moving to Brownwood, I have seen God answer prayers in mighty ways... and I have seen Him step in miraculously at the right time. There were times when there should have been no hope, but God responded to our prayers and saved the day.

There are times when trouble seems to pile up at the door. Psalm 3:1-2 says:

Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. 2Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.

Sometimes it seems that the whole world is against you... and your enemies might even believe that God won't help you. You might even think you are beyond God's reach. But the good news is that you are never out of God's reach, and the situation is never out of his control. Psalm 3:3-4 says:

But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. 4I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.

God is our shield. He stands between us and those who wish to harm us. He stands in the gap for us. Not only that, He is our glory. Everything good about us, everything that we can glory in, comes from God. God is also the lifter up of our heads. He is our comforter, healer and encourager.

But the most powerful part of Psalm 3 to me is verse 4, that says "I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of His holy hill." God, the creator of the universe, the all-powerful, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God hears our prayers. He hears my prayers, and He hears your prayers if you know Him. When you pray, you can pray confidently knowing that He hears your prayers... and He will intervene on your behalf... even it if wasn't quite what you were thinking.

King David totally trusted God. When He wrote these words in Psalm 3, he had been betrayed by everyone close to him, and was running from Absalom, who wanted to kill him. (Admittedly, he brought it on himself, but that's another story for another day.)

So when David wrote in Psalm 3:5 that "I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me," he wasn't praising a beautiful morning. He was thanking God for protecting him while he slept. God protects us when we are at our most vulnerable moments.

God protects His people, and never lets them suffer unless there is a greater purpose at stake. Or, as Psalm 3:8 says, "Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people."

Salvation belongs to God, and our salvation is tied up in Him. Trust Jesus Christ as your personal savior, then trust God to guide you through life, and protect you along the way. God bless you.