God Who Finally Makes Us Smile 3
Bible passage: Genesis 18:9-15
“ 9. "Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked him. "There, in the tent," he said. 10. Then the LORD 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. 11. Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?" 13. Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?' 14. Is anything too hard for the LORD? "
There is a saying that refers to the "aesthetics of waiting." It means that waiting for good people or good things is a happy experience.
However, no matter how good the outcome, if the waiting time becomes prolonged, frustration, anxiety, and disbelief will increase in proportion to the time spent waiting. In today’s scripture, Sarah was going through such difficulties related to waiting. In Genesis Chapter 12, when God called Abraham, He promised to give him a son. Abraham was 75 years old when he received the promise, and it was fulfilled when he was 100 years old. For 25 long years after receiving the promise, there were times when Abraham and Sarah were overwhelmed with anticipation, and other times when they were in deep anguish.
It is no exaggeration to say that their lives were a continuous process of waiting. Today’s scripture tells the story in the 24th year after God promised to give them a son. Even though they had received the promise, waiting for 24 years without an answer would certainly make them exhausted and frustrated. From God’s perspective, He had planned to fulfill the promise a year later, so He knew they just needed to wait a little longer.
