Love That Never Fails

7. Unexpected Blessing

Since the first successful IVF birth in 1978, thousands of childless couples have had the great joy of finally being able to conceive and look forward to a family of their own. It's a great blessing but does require parents to be young enough in order to ensure success. Even before such intervention was available, some couples were known to suddenly conceive after many years of waiting. In these cases it must have seemed nothing short of a miracle!

Imagine Abraham and Sarah's surprise when God first promised that they would have a child! Abraham was 75 years old and it seemed most unlikely that his wife Sarah would be able to conceive, as they had been trying all of their married life! In fact they took matters into their own hands, having Abraham conceive a child through a servant, but this was not part of God's perfect plan for them. However, after waiting another 25 years and heading further away from the possibility of being fertile, God's faithfulness was about to be seen:

"When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers." Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.""
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭17:1-8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

These words must have seemed even more incredible than when God had first spoken to him but He asked for Abraham to walk before Him and be blameless and speaks of him being the father of many nations. God goes on to say that nations and even kings would come from Abraham and an everlasting covenant would be established!

"I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you."
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭17:6-7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This must have been very hard for Abraham to believe! Sarah reacted as many of us would when the Lord delivered the message to her:

"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.""
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭18:10-14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This reminds us that indeed nothing is too difficult for God! Unexpected blessings are His specialty and as His children, we can be sure He will lovingly surprise us throughout our lives too!

Let's Pray:

Dear Lord,

Thank You for the way You spoke to Abraham and gave him unexpected blessings! You are the God of miracles and clearly, nothing is too hard for You! Today I choose to trust You and bring before You areas of my life where I am awaiting miracles too ............................................................ Thank You that I can trust You completely with every detail of my life. Help me to continue on in faith as I await Your perfect timing and loving provision.

Amen.