Big Idea:
Learning to wait on God and trust in God is essential to being a person of faith.
Key Verse: Genesis 18:14 (The Message)
Is anything too hard for GOD? I'll be back about this time next year and Sarah will have a baby.
The Scoop:
Many of us live by various axioms or, “words to live by,” so much so that they become innate or the foundation on which we live and make decisions. “'Know-so' hope” is one of these axioms that needs explaining. The hope that we have as followers of Christ is not a “hope-so” hope built upon chance or potential or even deep desire; it is a "know-so" hope built on the promises of a faithful God.
When God tells Sarah that He is still going to give her a child despite her advanced age, she laughs. She gets tired of waiting on God’s promise and tries to take things into her own hands by having a surrogate child through her handmaid Hagar. All of Sarah’s problems seem to be rooted in her struggle to wait on God. Even after Sarah goes about having children in disobedience to God’s plan, God still reaffirms His promise to make Abraham into a great nation through his offspring with Sarah. God chose Abraham and Sarah out of His grace, not because they were great role-models for all generations to follow. God’s covenant with Abraham and Sarah is about God’s character.
Have you ever heard the question, “Can God make a rock so big that He can’t pick it up?” In Genesis 18:14, God asks a grown-up version of that question to Abraham; “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” The obvious answer here is, “no.” However, all logic and understanding that Abraham and Sarah possess leaves them hopeless even with the possibility of reproducing.
1. Have you ever gotten tired of waiting on God and tried to make something happen on your own?
2. What helps you get through difficult times of waiting?
3. Is there a situation in your life that logically has no hope? How could God’s promises be challenging you to stand firmly in a "know-so" hope?
What’s Next? (further processing & application)
• If there was a promise of God revealed to you through this study that spoke to an issue with which you are struggling to wait, write that promise in 3 different places that you are sure to see each day. (i.e.: your car, mirror, planner, etc.)
• Find ways this week to encourage those around you who are clinging to a shallow “hope-so" hope in the deeper truths of a faithful God. Find Scripture-promises that will help them find firm footing as they face their painful circumstance.
• Make it a discipline to ask yourself in the face of your daily doubts, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?”
Learning to wait on God and trust in God is essential to being a person of faith.
Key Verse: Genesis 18:14 (The Message)
Is anything too hard for GOD? I'll be back about this time next year and Sarah will have a baby.
The Scoop:
Many of us live by various axioms or, “words to live by,” so much so that they become innate or the foundation on which we live and make decisions. “'Know-so' hope” is one of these axioms that needs explaining. The hope that we have as followers of Christ is not a “hope-so” hope built upon chance or potential or even deep desire; it is a "know-so" hope built on the promises of a faithful God.
When God tells Sarah that He is still going to give her a child despite her advanced age, she laughs. She gets tired of waiting on God’s promise and tries to take things into her own hands by having a surrogate child through her handmaid Hagar. All of Sarah’s problems seem to be rooted in her struggle to wait on God. Even after Sarah goes about having children in disobedience to God’s plan, God still reaffirms His promise to make Abraham into a great nation through his offspring with Sarah. God chose Abraham and Sarah out of His grace, not because they were great role-models for all generations to follow. God’s covenant with Abraham and Sarah is about God’s character.
Have you ever heard the question, “Can God make a rock so big that He can’t pick it up?” In Genesis 18:14, God asks a grown-up version of that question to Abraham; “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” The obvious answer here is, “no.” However, all logic and understanding that Abraham and Sarah possess leaves them hopeless even with the possibility of reproducing.
1. Have you ever gotten tired of waiting on God and tried to make something happen on your own?
2. What helps you get through difficult times of waiting?
3. Is there a situation in your life that logically has no hope? How could God’s promises be challenging you to stand firmly in a "know-so" hope?
What’s Next? (further processing & application)
• If there was a promise of God revealed to you through this study that spoke to an issue with which you are struggling to wait, write that promise in 3 different places that you are sure to see each day. (i.e.: your car, mirror, planner, etc.)
• Find ways this week to encourage those around you who are clinging to a shallow “hope-so" hope in the deeper truths of a faithful God. Find Scripture-promises that will help them find firm footing as they face their painful circumstance.
• Make it a discipline to ask yourself in the face of your daily doubts, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?”
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