"The Living Hope"

 "Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised." (Hebrews 11:11 KJV)

  "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance - an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see." (1 Peter 1:3-5 NLT)

 Okay, so we looked at what Sarah did that was wrong, but now we need to try to understand how God is able to make things right, even for those who might doubt Him, He always has a way! If God says that Sarah was going to conceive, then there is no doubt, she will have a son! Furthermore, the birth of her son was real to her, after Haggar conceived, she repented having made that choice; and when she laughed, it was to herself, but God called her out anyways; so, she knew then, that He wasn't kidding!  

 Having some doubts about doing things God might be asking us to do, is really not all that uncommon; there are always obstacles and hardships that are in the way, but every hardship and obstacle is the way God increases our faith and gives us the reason to trust in Him, more and more. Faith is not our doing; it is God's doing through us! 

 I will never forget Pastor Gary's message about learning how to drown. As he was illustrating what it looked like, he was leaning away from his pulpit, almost as if he was floating on water. The point he was making was that of what most people do when they are drowning, they fight it, and the lifeguard that tries to save them will just let them drown; otherwise, they might get hurt themselves. 

 God obviously won't be hurt trying to save us, but we must surrender and fall into His arms! It really isn't that we give up; instead, we give it all to God...

"So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." (1 Peter 5:6-7 NLT)