‘Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”’– Genesis 18:12
Introduction
Over the years, I’ve learnt that every Word in the Bible is there for a reason. If you’re like me, you’ve probably come across this Scripture several times about Sarah laughing when the angels promised she will have a son within a year of their visit. ‘Why did Sarah laugh?’, you may have asked yourself.
I don’t know the answer to that question but we can hazard a guess based on her circumstances. You see, we’re talking about an almost 90-year old woman here.
She had long crossed the menopause age. She had watched her mates, and then her mates’ children and possibly even her mates’ grandchildren become mothers. She had watched and waited for God’s promise of childbirth to become a reality in her life.
She had wished and hoped and prayed to be a mother for so long that she probably couldn’t even remember when it had started. She had waited so long that she was finally coming to terms with ‘her’ fact that she might never become a mother.
Often, when we’ve wanted something so badly and gone to extreme lengths to get it without any success, we do not remain the same. We resist the reality of our failure.
We fight it with our words and our hands and our faith. We fight it with everything we’ve got until we don’t have any more weapons or strength to keep fighting it. That is when we realize that we have to make peace with our situation.
And that is not an easy road – it is a road that compels us to let go of that luggage that we cherished so much which has now become a burdensome baggage. It is a road that compels us to think or accept that maybe, just maybe, this is how God wanted it for us all along.
On this road, we fight ourselves, our what-ifs, our values, and everything else that we think has stood between us and the realization of our dreams. On this road, we are confronted with a reality that is as harsh as it is stark. We don’t get to take it or leave it.
We must either take it or take it. And in taking it, we can choose to be gracious and accommodating or bitter and vindictive. Whichever way we choose to take it; this road ultimately leads to accepting our situation whether we want to or not.
Sarah was on that road when the three angels showed up unannounced in her matrimonial home to announce her imminent childbirth. She must have initially been excited as she pictured herself with a baby bump.
She probably allowed her thoughts to wander a bit imagining how it would feel and look like taking care of the beautiful little girl or that cute little boy she had fantasized giving birth to so many years ago…
We normally associate laughter with joy, happiness and excitement. But Sarah did not laugh because was excited. She did not laugh because she was happy or joyful. She had probably been prayed for by Melchizedek and all the great men of God in her generation already.
And yet, somehow, she had still remained childless. Sometimes when we have waited too long for our hopes to be fulfilled, our bright eyes of expectation lose their shine as eager anticipation gives way to heart-wrenching disappointment.
Our once loud ‘Hallelujahs’ and ‘Amens’ lose their resonating echo and give way to a polite and subdued version of these same affirmations. We have watched and waited and it seems we have lost. Nevertheless, we continue to say Hallelujah and Amen.
Proverbs 14:13 says “Even in laughter the heart may sorrow…” And when Sarah laughed on that fateful day, she wasn’t doing it because she wanted to. She was in effect saying ‘Please don’t raise my hopes again’. She was asking inwardly ‘Is this still possible?’.
She was willing herself to believe again, to trust God that this time the promise will not fail, that this time God will not pass her by. In her laughter, Sarah was crying – crying that the mercies of God will stop life from playing a cruel trick on her on this matter. In her laughter, Sarah was saying ‘Lord, I believe – help my unbelief!’
Conclusion
If you’re reading this passage today and you’re laughing about a new rhema (spoken word of God) you’ve received concerning your health, your career, your prosperity, your marriage, your childbirth, I dare you to laugh. I dare you to laugh because God understands your laughter as much as he commiserates with your tears. He knows that your laughter shall precede your testimony:
‘Then our mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” (Psalm 126:2). He knows that our pain will end in praise like Sarah’s did in Genesis 21:6 And Sarah said, “God has [b]made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.” I dare you to laugh because ‘He who sits in the heavens laughs’ (Psalm 2:4).
Our God, the God of Israel, the Ancient of Days – He laughs too. He laughs because he sees and knows that the torment you have been through is coming to an end. He laughs because He knows that when He shows up, the Word He gives you will not fail because ‘Forever, O Lord, they Word is settled’ (Psalm 119:89).
Therefore, if God should visit us today, let us dare to laugh. Let us dare to laugh because in our laughter we shall be set free to shed the unshed tears in our hearts.
We shall be set free to chase after that dream once again. In our laughter, that faint glimmer of hope hidden deep in our hearts shall be exposed and God will light that candle again.
He is able and He will. In our laughter, may we trust Him who alone is able to wipe away our tears and make us smile again. May we trust Him who in spite of our laughter can change our name from Sarai to Sarah. Selah.
- Authored by: Hannah Arabella
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