A few weeks ago I was meditating on the woman with the issue of blood where she said within herself “If I just touch the hem of his garment.”
And here we also have another woman saying (laughing, speaking) within herself!
Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? (Genesis 18:11-13)
One women said ‘within herself’, another ‘laughed within herself’ — no matter which one you look at it deals with the realm of impossibilities, faith and your inner conversation or attitude towards miracles and the promises of God.
I stumbled across a blog by Ama on this where she said “Is God not amazing, where humanity has set the limit, God breaks it.”
Well that is shouting territory right there.
Now despite Sarah’s initial doubt, her looking at her biological age, the age of her husband, her circumstances—it was impossible, BUT GOD still came through.
Himpossible
But how many of us know that our impossibilities just need the ‘H’ letter added to it—they then become Himpossibilities: Him-Possible. GOD-POSSIBLE.
This revelation needs to drop down deep inside our spirit. When God says all things are POSSIBLE it means ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. God does not say a few things are possible or even most things are possible, but all things.
Jesus talks about a WHATSOEVER and an ANYTHING in relation to faith and prayer.
“And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:13)
We have got to plant this hope and expectation inside us—believe in the WHATSOEVER and the ANYTHING, for it is all DOABLE in God.
“But Steve, you do not know my situation, my lack of resources or money, my sickness, my skills, my lack of education, my confidence…”
Hey you, God is not looking at all those things is he, so why should you. The greater the impossibility, the greater the glory He gets.
Be careful of unbelief and doubt, that is the land of the first laugh: perhaps a laugh at the seeming impossibleness of your circumstances or the thing you are praying and believing God for breakthrough in.
Ama went on to say in her blog reflection on Sarah,
I am sure when Isaac was born Sarah remembered that she laughed before and now she laughs again. These two laughs portrayed different emotions and notions. Where one was a “mess” (filled with doubt, pain, and sorrow), the last laugh was filled with joy, celebration, and praise to God.
The Last Laugh
Did you know that God wants to have the last laugh in your life; and that last laugh will come out of your mouth. In fact, he wants the first laugh that comes out your mouth to be one of FAITH and not of doubt (like Abraham, his laugh recieved no correction).
It's all about those little chats (you know, all those ‘she said within herself’ moments) we have with ourselves daily, these all shape what happens on the outside.
You inner conversation MUST change to see the outer manifestations.
And even then, thank goodness for grace and mercy—even if our first laugh has a sprinkle of doubt, we’re not pitching a tent there forever. Move from doubt into faith. Move from a Sarah to an Abraham. And even if we start with a laugh of disbelief, thinking God's promises are stuck in traffic or just plain impossible—HE WILL STILL BREAK THROUGH!
Tell yourself, “God, I might not have all my ducks in a neat little row when it comes to this faith stuff, but the ducks I do have, I want them laughing in faith, not quacking in doubt. Sure, some of my ducks are running around like headless chickens, quacking 'what-if' and 'impossible,' BUT enough of the melancholy mallards! I want a mouth that moves mountains and laughs in faith!”
We know that Sarah gave birth to Isaac, and Isaac’s name means ‘laughter’.
You know that you will birth your promise also and it will mean laughter, for your joy is being made full!
“These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
Laugh One vs Laugh Two
We read that Abraham fell on his face and laughed:
"Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed..." (Gen 17:17)
And a bit further on, we read that “Sarah laughed within herself.” But here’s the fun part: Abraham wasn't scolded for his laughter. He laughed in the right way!
His laughter was a natural expression of pure, amazed delight. It was holy laughter, full of wonder, and he wasn’t called out for it. However, the Lord did question, “Why did Sarah laugh?”
Sarah got a little reprimand for laughing, even though she did the same thing as Abraham.
They both laughed, but one was praised and the other wasn’t.
Why, you ask?
Because there was a big difference between their laughs. Sarah’s laugh was one of disbelief. She couldn’t imagine having a child at her age, especially with her husband being old too.
“What an Absurd Idea!”
The idea seemed absolutely absurd to her, and she laughed at the mere thought. Although she was a devout woman, she forgot the reverence due to the one who made the promise and laughed quietly within herself.
While Abraham's laughter was filled with joyous faith, Sarah's was tinged with doubt.
But even in this, the hand of grace and favor rests: God saw their hearts and responded accordingly, making their story one of delightful contrasts and divine promises. It is written to instruct us today in wisdom, faith, and righteousness: that it is better to laugh in faith at impossibilities, rather then linger in doubt.
Wesley Got It
Abraham laughed.
Sarah laughed within herself.
The woman with the issue of blood said within herself.
And God, who looks at the heart, knows all about those secret conversations and attitudes we carry.
Did you know we can read the promises of God with the eye of faith or with the eye of mockery. Ask God to make you ‘clean in the inner realms’ those secret parts of your thought life: the hidden parts that make you know something’.
“Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…”
You know what I love about Abraham? “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief.”
Sarah staggered at first, but God even turned her initial ‘staggering’ into dancing.
Abraham was “fully persuaded” despite all the external conflicts that were assailing his natural eyes. He overlooked all that and rose up with a holy confidence, defied the impossibilities, and left the 'too-hard-basket' to a miracle working God.
Sarah was not “fully persuaded” to being with, and though many of us can identify with Sarah, we do not have to begin where she began.
"And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me."
Charles Wesley wrote in his Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1742:
Faith, mighty faith,
the promise sees,
And looks to that alone;
Laughs at impossibilities,
And cries, It shall be done!
Charles got it! Abraham got it. Sarah (eventually) got it. The women with the issue of blood got it. Do you and I get it?
Laugh Right Back at the Devil
You may see a range of mountainous impossibilities before you.
You may be experiencing utter despair at those impossibilities.
You may be feeling 'very weak' of ever experiencing a divine breakthrough in those impossibilities.
Laugh!
Laugh loud and long.
Laugh at the devil—and oh how he hates to be laughed at, he wants to make you be the one who cowers in fear before him. He wants to cause you to laugh at the weakness of God, "Where is God? I thought He cared about me? God can do nothing here!" Give him no such pleasure. Go on, laugh at him, till dawn breaks if need be.
No one who trust in God shall ever be confounded, world without end!
That is from 1 Peter 2:6 - confounded means ashamed, silenced, perplexed, dismayed etc. It is a horrid cocktail of emotions the devil wants you to experience concerning the faithfulness and goodness of God.
The enemy wants your prayers to be as barren as Sarah's womb; your faith to lie sick of the fever to the point of death; your eyes forever blinded to the promises of God.
What to do?
Laugh right back at him.
Speak faith right back at him.
Decree the promises right back at him.
And as I have written a thousand times in my life and will a thousand days hence: "Have faith in God."
