By: Obed Pineda
Failure has a sour taste that tends to linger. It weighs on a person’s heart with disillusion and its darkness seeks to shroud any glimmer of hope left in the individual stained by the sordid experience. The cruel, frigid hands of hopelessness take the mind of a person hostage, poisoning it with bitterness, self-doubt, and despair. Often has been the case where someone bitten by the fangs of defeat is unable to recover from such sorrow and their spirit remains broken. A common symptom found in those whose hearts have been infected by this disease is unbelief. They have fallen so deep into the abyss of discouragement, that hope becomes a myth to them and thus they scoff at it as if it were a harsh joke. Yet, it is valuable to observe that a common thread among those who delve so deeply into disbelief is the lack of a friend’s hand to help them get up when they fall. Hence the wisdom of the Lord as He manifests, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17, emphasis added). In the previous entry of our series, we learned from Holy Scripture the value of good companionship. A fact that is irrefutably sustained by King Solomon’s divinely inspired proverb. This marvelous lesson, he expands upon by illuminating that “as iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend” (Proverbs 27:17, emphasis added). For anyone who has the blessing of true friends in their lives, both these proverbs highlight how such a beautiful bond was forged to begin with. This is undeniably true because the marks of a friend are the “scars” that are twins to your own because he stood by your side during the fierce battles, and did not abandon you. It is his hand in friendship that pulls you back from the madness of loss and defeat, despite the peril of being pulled in to the madness itself. Verily, those who remain prisoners of their pungent casualty, are also those who deny the aid of a friend who is trying to get them back on their feet. Thus, when we learn the undeniable worth of this treasured lesson, the magnificence of God’s friendship with Abraham immediately radiates when we understand the motive behind Jehovah God’s visit to Abraham’s home (Genesis 18:1-15). Throughout this entire series, the bond of friendship between Jehovah God and Abraham has been emphasized. It has been this holy fellowship that has been forging Abraham’s faith during the trials and challenges he has encountered during his quest. Like the proverb teaches, it has been God’s friendship that has sharpened the countenance of Abraham. Let us recall that by this time, Sarah had already made another attempt at becoming pregnant but once more was unsuccessful. This failed attempt led her to offer her Egyptian maid, Hagar, to Abraham supposing that in this way the Lord would fulfill His promise of a child to them (Genesis 16:1-3). However, this misled decision brought forth unnecessary problems that would have been avoided had they waited patiently in the Lord (Genesis 16:4-6). One of them being that the Lord rejected Ishmael as the son of promise and rectified this by revealing to Abraham, “Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him” (Genesis 17:19, emphasis added). In other words, Abraham and Sarah had gotten it wrong, yet again. Thus, it does not become difficult to relate to the confusion and uncertainty that was brewing in Sarah’s mind. Although it is not justified because it exhibits the little faith that the Master always reprimanded from His disciples, it confirms that her faith, too, was being developed in the celestial forge of God. Thus, the purpose of Jehovah’s visit was more to fortify Sarah’s faith in His promise that she would bear a child than to share a meal with Abraham. Undoubtedly, this timely visit evinces that Abraham had already shared with his beloved the Lord’s words concerning Ishmael, and her. Because the previous time she heard from her husband that God had promised them a son and were unable to conceive, there is no doubt that Sarah received this news with some skepticism. Keep in mind that Scripture reveals that when God reveals this to Sarah personally, “Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing” (Genesis 18:9-11, emphasis added). Therefore, it was imperative to increase the faith of Sarah that was undoubtedly wavering not only because of the several failures she suffered in trying to become pregnant, but the reality of the “deadness” of her womb as well (Romans 4:19). The level of difficulty both of these challenges presented to Sarah’s faith is unwise to dismiss. On the contrary, when we focus on these two facts given to us by the Holy Spirit, it allows a better understanding of what Sarah achieved with the help of God. The Hebrew writer expounds that Sarah was able to do the impossible because “by faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful Who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11, emphasis added). This strength alluded to by the Hebrew scribe took place in that visit by Jehovah God. Due to her multiple failures, Sarah was in dire need of the Divine hand to pick her up off the ground. Her morale as a barren woman was unquestionably (and understandably) low, and only the Lord Himself was mighty enough to lift her from that pit of disillusion. During the Lord’s tenure on earth, He, too, encountered a father in despair over his son’s dreaded condition, worsened by His disciple’s inability to heal the boy (Mark 9:14-29). After the child’s father pleaded with the Lord to help them, He reminded the man that “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23, emphasis added). Hearing these words from the Redeemer, notice how his response echoes Sarah’s necessity: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24b, emphasis added). This plea describes impeccably the reason for the Lord God’s visit to Abraham. Unbelief was plaguing the heart of Sarah, as evidenced by her laughter at God’s announcement that she would give birth to the child of promise (Genesis 18:12). In His omniscience, the Lord was well aware that Abraham was not able to “cast” out this evil influence from Sarah like the disciples were unable to heal the father’s child. For this reason, it was essential for her to hear this news directly from the Father Himself. He reinvigorated her faith when He proved His power by exposing her inward thoughts on the matter and rebuked her unbelief, which she tried to deny (Genesis 18:13-15). Without question, the Lord’s mighty hand pulled Sarah out from the abyss of unbelief, thus proving once more the strength of the bond shared between He and Abraham. To be continued…