Sometimes, God says or directs us to do things that virtually does not make sense to us. His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. His language sometimes appears rather cumbersome. Have you ever tried to listen in to a conversation in a totally foreign language? It does sounds hogwash, doesn't it?
When Sarah was past the age of menopause, and her husband was a very old man, God visited them and promised them a child. You can only describe the words of God to them as RIDICULOUS.
Genesis 18:10-15
Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.”
I do not know about you, but if I had been in Sarah's shoes, I would have laughed louder than that, and I would have felt slighted and mocked at. In those days, to be barren and childless was a huge thing, something that society frowned upon and made you to feel you did not measure up to be called a woman. In other words, being childless was a very sensitive issue to Sarah. Being told at that ripe age that you were going to have a child was like someone trying to simply rub it in, like a knife being turned in your wound.
In this case, God was not mocking Abraham and Sarah at all. He was very serious about His Promise, and even gave the time when it would come to pass - Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
God proved faithful. In Genesis 21 : 1-2 , we read - Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.
I bet the same Sarah who a year ago felt God was simply being ridiculous, having tasted the goodness of the Lord was full of praises for Him.
Next time, when God's ways or words appear ridiculous, simply trust Him. At the wedding at Cana, Jesus was asked by his mother to help the couple out because they had run out of wine. Mary , the mother of Jesus made a significant remark - His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” John 2 : 5
We must learn to simply trust and obey God, even when His directions and laws appear not to make sense. On this day, and at a very busy wedding, during a critical time when the servants had run out of wine, Jesus offered them the most ridiculous instruction -
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. John 2: 6 - 7.
What an instruction ! To fill six water jars, each requiring twenty to thirty gallons? At a busy wedding reception? RIDICULOUS!!! Ridiculous sums up the instruction of Jesus. However, the servants obliged, maybe because the mother of Jesus had earlier advised them to do as Jesus says. What followed was nothing short of a miracle - John 2 : 8- 10
Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
The Psalmist reminds us -As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. Psalm 18 :30
God must be trusted. He definitely knows what He is about.
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